Ready To Go?

Hey, we made it... Part of Echo Express Status: Survived

[sunnyset-blog1]

And I Say... It’s Alright [Epilogue]

Leo Lacroix.

Beatrix Beckham had never known his name, and he had never known hers. So what did that mean? Did they truly remain a mystery to each other, even up to the end? Did that mean their frantic attempts to hold onto normality was for naught? Did that mean their relationship was fake, their affections fake, their love fake? She found herself wondering if ‘love’ was even the right word to use as she approached his apartment complex in Montreal. After all, it probably wasn’t possible for two people to fall in love in the span of a few weeks.

Then again, the whole situation just didn’t seem possible. The nightmares she woke up in a cold sweat from were so strange they seemed almost fictitious. What was this about a fake train with a robotic conductor, both engineered by a devious girl who seemed more interested in destruction than anything else? And what about this nonsense regarding four other people who watched the train and conductor and girl and all the memories they had aboard the Echo Express burst into flames? It sounded too absurd to be real.

But it was real.

She had the journal and a meeting date scribbled on her calendar. She also had images of people dying seared in her mind. Oh, and as out there as the nightmares seemed -- they were also reminders.

Beatrix felt like crying, but no tears came yet. Instead she approached the apartment complex. Out front was a garden. Or rather, it was the remains of a garden. What once was no doubt a pretty patch of flowers was now a plot of land overgrown with weeds. She smiled despite its unsightliness. It must’ve been Leo’s if it was this unmanaged.

Opening the journal he had given her (or rather, she got back from Kiyoko), she double-checked the address. Yes, it was correct. Getting here had been a struggle only because of how much seeing his home would weigh her down. Yet here she was, having finally made it to Leo Lacroix’s place of residence.

She walked up to his apartment door -- one of the ones on the first floor -- and stared dumbly. She raised her fist to knock, then realized how silly that was. He lived alone. So, after glancing around to make sure nobody was watching, she quickly tried the doorknob.

No such luck. Life had never been easy, so of course it wasn’t going to relent now. Beatrix scowled and spun around, returning to the garden. Out there she noticed sizable rocks amongst the flowers, as well as a window. It was locked, too, so soon enough she had a rock in her hand. After a moment of hesitation, she threw it.

The sound of glass shattering must’ve alerted the neighbors. An older woman came out from the apartment nearest Leo’s and stared at Beatrix as she was trying to clamber in through the broken window. The former weather girl’s hands were bleeding by this point, the rock having made quite a mess, and her jacket had several tears in it.

The woman said something in French, and Beatrix froze. She considered climbing back out and telling the lady the truth (about how this guy who had been living next door died on a train when he tried to murder someone because she wanted him to), but immediately decided against it. She’d just have to add ‘breaking and entering’ to her list of crimes.

She landed on her knees, tears welling up in her eyes when she noticed how bloody her hands were and how much they were beginning to hurt. After looking around, she realized she had no idea what was in here. It was a very lonely, very empty apartment from the look of things. Abandoned, save for a cat that had just appeared, seemingly out of thin air.

“Are you Nina?” she asked, wiping her face with her torn jacket sleeve.

The cat meowed. It looked malnourished and lost, its long coat dull and matted. It slowly approached her, sniffed her tentatively before purring.

“So you are Nina,” Beatrix said, smiling. She picked up the cat. She had no idea what she was going to do with her new companion, but she figured Leo would want her to take care of her. She was probably his only friend (well, up until Beatrix herself came along).

She headed for the door, not making a sound. Looking any further would only make her sadder. Every so often Nina would wiggle in her arms, but at least she didn’t try to make an escape.

Eventually she reached the door, unlocked it and swung it open. The elderly woman from earlier was outside, speaking in rapid French into a phone. She narrowed her eyes at Beatrix, who in turn added ‘running from the law’ to her growing list of legal offenses.

She was already in the cab back to the bus station when she heard sirens. Unless they got her name, she’d probably not get caught. She sniffled, cradled Nina, who was asleep in her arms. On the way home, she’d have to get some bandages for her hands and a crate for Nina. That being said, she was eager to get out of Canada. This was especially true after seeing (er, breaking into) where Leo lived. The bus ride home would be long, but it was preferable to taking a train back to the States. Even if she never rode a train again it’d still be too soon.

So thus the following day Beatrix “Bebe” Beckham found herself standing outside a small bar in New York City. The cuts on her hands were still healing, there were bruises on her knees, and she really needed a new coat, but she was smiling.

She hadn’t really been herself that entire train ride. Perhaps that was why she wondered if her whirlwind romance with Leo had been real -- she was vying for attention the entire time. Whether she was a damsel or a savior or a villain or a survivor didn’t matter much. She had been trying to be someone else the whole tragedy.

Then again, this wasn’t anything new. She had been a fake her whole life, playing whatever part would get her the most affection. It had worked on the Echo Express too -- people died because of her. But when she watched the world rupture around her as the warehouse blew up, she realized something: maybe acting wasn’t her strong suit anymore. Maybe it was best to be herself. Leo probably would’ve wanted that. What’s more, she wanted that too.

So for the first time in forever, the real Bebe walked through the door. She entered the bar, looking around for her fellow passengers. Her smile was genuine and her voice warm when she greeted them.

“It’s nice to see you again!”

And with that, Bebe could safely believe it was time to say goodbye.

So goodbye, Sunny.

Goodbye, Echo Express.

[redpunkwannabe-blog]

Don’t Stop Me Now | Event Open

[sunnyset-blog1]

redpunkwannabe:

Red stood in the corner of the Lounge watching Dot carefully. After she had completely left, Red rushed over to the stage to inspect what she had dropped… and more importantly, the gift she had left behind. After discussing the photo with the others, Red turned his attention to the small machine. 

They had been faced with so many hardships during their stay aboard the Echo Express, and maybe unwinding a bit with everyone, even the most frightening of the passengers remaining, could do the whole group some good. Maybe even stop the killings through bonding! …Or at the very least distract from the thought of them for a bit longer. 

“…Mmmm… how to work this thing… ah…”

Red clicked the buttons on the karaoke machine aimlessly. Maybe this one…? Ah, or maybe it’s… He couldn’t seem to figure it out. Well, that is, until the music started.

“Ah! Oh.. jeez, uh… I… Who wants to sing?”

To Sunny, Dot’s newest ‘bonding activity’ felt like a slap in the face. After all this tragedy, they got some stupid gift? What, were they expected to bond over terrible singing? What a joke. She glowered at the karaoke machine and the others crowding around it, trying to get her feet to move. She wanted to leave, but something was stopping her. The concept of making amends.

Redeeming herself sounded like an idiotic notion when she hadn’t done anything wrong, but in this case it was a smart idea. After everyone’s chastising, she was beginning to realize maybe she had messed up somewhere along the way. ...No, no, that was a lie; she knew all along just how badly she had screwed up. She was just now starting to admit it.

She slowly drifted toward the karaoke machine, watching Red mess with it. Why did he keep trying to keep things together? Was it to avoid being a target? She stared him down, so busy trying to pin down his motives that the sudden music made her shriek.

Her hands flew up to her mouth and she looked around, trying to find an exit. Maybe this was a bad idea. But before she could decide to leave, she grabbed the microphone and held it up to her face.

“I’ll start,” she said, her amplified voice echoing through the car. She looked at the karaoke machine and frowned, then moved to change the selection. A few seconds later a new song began to play.

[karaoke time]

But instead of singing, Sunny looked out over the crowd. Normally she didn’t get stagefright, but for some reason being in front of these people she knew so well (yet didn’t know at all -- what even were their names?) terrified her. She smiled nervously at them.

“This is okay, right?” she asked, her cheeks red. “I dunno. I know you all hate me, but I just want to… I wanna have fun with everyone again. I know we can’t though, because what I did was sorta bad.”

She sniffled, rubbing her eyes with a hand. She still wasn’t singing.

“Anyway, I hope you won’t hate me for trying, but you all seem to hate me so much I don’t know if that’s possible. But still, don’t throw tomatoes or knives at me, okay?” she continued, and forced herself to laugh. It sounded hollow. “Okay, starting now. And if you don’t like it, then you’re welcome to leave.”

She gave a pointed look to Sepia (although her gaze did seem less fiery than normal) before opening her mouth. And then she scowled, turned to look back at the machine and realized the song was nearly over. Stumbling over to the machine, she reset the song.

[karaoke time (again)]

Right before it restarted she quickly added in, “By the way, I’m, well, Bebe? And this is that one song by Bruno Mars. You’re welcome to join in too if you know it!”

For once she sounded like her old self -- energetic and cutesy. Even though she figured everyone knew that was a facade by now, it felt comforting to take it on once again. Maybe she could pretend things were okay, if only for a couple minutes.

[sunnyset-blog1]

secret rare chuuni dot

(made using pokecard dot net)

[ibukidoji-blog]

open no. 11 ~ who is the queen?

[sunnyset-blog1]

ibukidoji:

********** 

Oh dear, it’s the tall girl. Shuten-douji laughs at her comments.

“Silly girl, there is no pretending. There is no pretending that due to you, and the little hamster’s decision to play the game, and consequent failure, that we haven’t lost a good man.” She drinks from her gourd. “No pretending that it isn’t your actions that have freed me from a hell haunted by my nightmares.

“I’ve been knocked down just recently, didn’t you see? It was hilarious. Although, I’ve just gotten back up.”

Shuten-douji hums thoughtfully, and grins. “In that sense, I suppose I should thank you. It’s your turn to be haunted by the nightmares brought about by your choices. You’ve knocked yourself down a peg, and you lost something precious as you fell,” she giggles, her voice warm. “And yet, the object of your hatred stands.”

The girl’s voice is vastly different from how she was just before. Somehow, this might be her true colors, and Shuten-douji finds dealing with this much preferable. She thought the girl would be sulking in a corner for the rest of the ride. Shuten-douji leans onto the window, a wide smile on her face. 

“Now, why would they let me have the boy’s notebook, when by all means it should go to you? I confess, I may have stolen it for myself, but it’s yours fair and square. But indeed, why? Why do they dislike you so strongly, but why do they tolerate me?”

The longer Shuten-douji talked, the more Sunny felt she should abandon her attempt to ally with her. Maybe she was worse than Sepia, if only because she just couldn’t understand her. Her only goal seemed to be making people angry.

And it was working.

Sunny tried to look calm, but her face was growing red and her hands balled into fists. She considered throwing a punch and finished what she started way, way back before anyone had died aboard the train. Maybe she had been too cowardly then. Maybe now she could make up for it--

But in the end, she didn’t do anything except stand there silently, feeling she was about to cry or scream or both at any second. She took a deep breath in, then another. After almost a minute spent quietly shaking in her boots in front of Shuten-douji, she finally found the words to express her thoughts.

“If I had to do it over again, maybe I would’ve killed you,” she said. “Neo and I only got close because of what I did, so maybe if I had succeeded, this nightmare would’ve gone different.”

She paused then, considering what that’d mean. If she had carried out the plan in the beginning, maybe everything would’ve turned out better. Maybe Neo would still be alive. But would she still have known him as well as she did in the end? The thought was so selfish, it made her feel sick.

“Just so you know, he said I couldn’t change his mind,” she eventually continued. Her voice was still low and dark. “So I decided to help him, just in case. Looked like that backfired though, huh? People probably just tolerate you because they have other me and Fennec to hate. They don’t trust us. And I get why they don’t trust Fennec. But me, really?”

Her voice cracked and she began tearing up. It was obvious she wasn’t actually surprised. Maybe being hated was the one fair thing on this train. But the last thing she wanted was Shuten-douji seeing her cry, so she turned back towards the way she came.

“By the way, I won’t actually kill you. I don’t wanna be playing this game anymore. Besides…” she trailed off, looking over her shoulder at the strange woman. “You say it’s my turn to have nightmares, and I won’t let that happen. I haven’t done anything wrong. I’ve just made mistakes.”

That was a lie, of course, and one even she didn’t believe.

[acrosstheroad-blog1]

The Alien’s Son ⚖ OPEN

[sunnyset-blog1]

acrosstheroad:

‘After all, you might be talking to the only person on this train who’s still willing to hear you out.’

The doctor was dead now, and the truth of his words felt twice as heavy. This was not the outcome Fennec had wanted, and the sting of disappointment still lingered as passengers filed out of the lounge. There was no sorrow in Fennec’s heart for Sawbones or his family, or even his own loneliness—there was only bitter dissatisfaction, and the unmistakable sensation of standing on thin ice. The butler stood in the centre of his bedroom with a carving knife, sweeping it out of his pocket over and over again.

The disdain for his circumstances, the wish for a different result, the regret that he had not reached the answer sooner—by morning, those things were unnecessary. Like sand through his fingers, Fennec let them go. The sun had just barely begun to peak over the mountaintops by the time Fennec left his cabin with a smile that seemed part of the uniform. He tossed two caffeine pills into his mouth, smoothed his jacket and moved towards the lounge. 

When Fennec’s hand caught the wall and the ground swam beneath him, he thought the train must have lurched to a stop. The butler looked up and saw that the world had become hazy—he could hear the wheels rolling dutifully along the track, but it sounded somehow far away. With a forefinger and thumb, he rubbed at his eyes while the other hand moved to the knife in his blazer pocket. His heartbeat was rapid in his chest, his breath shallow.

“…”

Fennec knew then that he had reached his limit. He had gone too many nights without a restful sleep, and fatigue was finally taking its toll.

Not here.

Fennec pushed himself up and pulled open the door to the lounge—it was impossibly heavy. He hurried through to the next car, the kitchen, but he could not stop there. Fennec borrowed a dish towel from one of the drawers and carried on, wading through a thick fog of exhaustion until he reached the church. It was empty, quiet. An imposing cross loomed high at the end of the room, boasting of a higher power.

“… God,” he greeted dryly. “Are you up there?” Fennec’s voice echoed through the church, and then there was silence.

“No,” he said, splaying out his hands as he tipped his head back and stared up past the ceiling. “I already know. What’s up there is …”

A bout of self-awareness hit him then—he envisioned himself standing alone in the dark room, arms spread wide, finishing that sentence. Laughter erupted from his gut, and he wondered with some humour if he was already delirious. Stifling his outburst, Fennec knelt by one of the pews and folded his dishtowel four times over. With one last look at the door, he slipped under the pew and made a bed of the floor. It was hard and cold, but a small price to pay in order to survive. With the carving knife tucked beneath his makeshift pillow, Fennec let himself sleep.

He awoke to the sound of a door closing—after that, footsteps. He did not know how long it had been since he had fallen asleep, nor did he know who had entered the church. Fennec pressed a hand to his mouth, remained still, and listened.

Despite the less than pleasant encounters she had there earlier, Sunny wanted to return to the church. It had been oddly peaceful there -- or rather, it would’ve if others hadn’t shown up. And while still didn’t feel particularly devout, maybe spending time in the church would give her some peace of mind. All she could think about was the impending sense of death.

She entered the church, letting the door slide shut behind her. For a moment she was still, taking in the scene yet again. Now that she thought about it, churches were where people celebrated. Not only God, but also important milestones in their community’s lives. Births, baptisms, marriages… She sniffled. Too bad the only milestone to celebrate on this train was how she was still alive.

If she were more melodramatic, she would’ve likened being hated to being dead. But that wasn’t true, was it? Even though it might be too late to redeem herself, as long as she was breathing, she could spite them. She could show everyone she never needed them anyway.

But for now she just wanted to actually think about what she’s done. She had tried to kill twice, and the second time she succeeded but with the wrong victim. Maybe it wasn’t anyone’s fault but her own. She had helped Neo with the plan, after all… If only it had been Fennec. Nobody would’ve bothered to save him.

She wrinkled her nose at the thought. If nobody would’ve bothered to save Fennec, did that mean nobody would bother to save her? Probably. But she didn’t need saving. She was fine without anyone!

She took a few steps forward, then paused. Who was she kidding? She was going to die next, wasn’t she? Tears welled up in her eyes. Beneath all the anger and spite, she was really, really scared.

“This isn’t fair,” she muttered. She looked for a place to sit down so to wait out what had to be a passing moment of weakness. “Why did it have to be her… Why couldn’t it have been--” She stopped mid-sentence and let out a high-pitched shriek.

“Fennec?!” she squeaked, eyes wide. She leaned down to get a closer look at the butler under the bench. He was definitely there, but just to make sure she prodded his side with her foot. “You’re alive, right? What the fuck-- I mean, um, what are you doing here?”

[sunnyset-blog1]

Sacrilege || Ch 5 || Open

[sunnyset-blog1]

echoexpress:

“Nyeehheheh… You dare speak to a denizen of the dark with such a tone? How bold…!”

Dot crossed the church and leaned down to pick up the bible Sunny had thrown. Her hand hesitated slightly, but she powered through and picked up the sacred tome. 

“An artifact of spirituality held highly by the Realm of Light’s mortals… It is difficult for beings of the Great Dark to touch! And yet you threw it across this very sanctuary.”

Dot returned the Bible back to it’s podium, giggling strangely as she did so. She slowly creaked her head towards Sunny, a wide smile spreading across her face. She whipped her body around and offered a hand to Sunny dramatically.

“You have a heart of black too, don’t you? Nyeeheheh…. Your sunny days have come to an end. The Realm of Light has closed for you, and all that waits is an eternal Solar Eclipse! The Great Dark welcomes you… Hehehe…!”

Sunny stared blankly at Dot, trying to decipher what was happening right now. The ‘Being of Darkness’ was so over the top it was almost comical -- but also undeniably annoying. She had expected herself to blow up upon seeing her, but for some reason she couldn’t get angry. Maybe it had to do with her fear of Dot still having a cattle prod, or maybe it was something else. Even though she was the one to blame for their entire predicament aboard the Echo Express, she was so different now Sunny was too curious to leave the church. This might be a chance to get to know her.

She thought back to Thirty Four and Director, how they both died while trying to decipher the mystery behind this train. Dot had said the only way off was to win, which meant Sunny would have to endure six more deaths before walking away scarred for life. That didn’t exactly sound pleasant. If this was a game, wasn’t there a way to cheat?

...Wait, no, that was stupid. She wasn’t some detective in some noir film, only a weather girl who was hated by everyone on this horrible train. Maybe humoring Dot would actually help things. At the very least, it couldn’t make them any worse.

That being said, getting told she was evil didn’t exactly make warming up to her any easier.

“I don’t have a heart of black!” Sunny found herself saying. “I just-- I--” She stopped herself, ‘hmph’ing in displeasure. To argue with such nonsense would only make her sound stupid too.

She placed a hand on her hip, shook her head. “I don’t care what you think,” she continued. “And I don’t know what you’re talking about either. A ‘Solar Eclipse?’ The ‘Great Dark?’ Oh please. You sound like some old, dead poet. If you’re gonna tell me I’m going to hell, you could at least be more direct.”

As she talked, she eyed the outstretched hand. Would it be bad to take it, to humor her further? After a moment of hesitation, she approached the strange Dot.

“You know what? I don’t care anymore. If I can’t get on their good side, maybe I can get on yours. How does that sound, huh?” she asked, smiling ruefully. And she took her hand.

[sunnyset-blog1]

Sacrilege || Ch 5 || Open

[sunnyset-blog1]

darkroomsepia:

Even though she had been eager to explore, now that Sepia had traversed most of the train she was starting to think she had made a mistake in walking that far. If nothing else, she predicted that the church would at least be somewhere peaceful to sit for a moment. But instead of solemn quiet, as she stepped inside she was met by a scream and a familiar glare. It had to be her, didn’t it?

Before the theatre she had been an annoyance, but now just the sight of Sunny was enough to make her flare up with anger. How much of that ridiculous plan was her idea? If Sepia was ‘supposed to die‘, maybe all of it.The thought of having someone to blame for Sawbones’ death standing right in front of her caused her to tense, her fists balling up as she imagined just running up and trying to claw Sunny’s eyes out. Someone’s eyes out? But the throbbing pain in her side reminded her that she couldn’t, even if that wasn’t a horrible idea, and she remained rooted firmly in place.

“This the last thing I want to do right now, believe me.” she said, her voice clear and without hesitation. “But you and I need to talk. Unless you just want to finish what you started – if that’s the case, you should work on your aim.”

Upon noticing the onlooker was Sepia, Sunny immediately thought of fetching the bible so she could bash her head in with it. It wasn’t like Sepia could fight back very well -- not with that wound, anyway. Her mind wandered to the watch in her pocket. Maybe if she activated it...

No, everyone would know it was her right away if Sepia died right now. Plus Neo had wanted her to live -- that was the whole point of their plan. The least she could do for him was keep her wits about her.

“Talk about what?” she asked, her voice cold as she glared daggers at the woman in front of her. “I didn’t know there was anything to talk about.”

That was a lie and an obvious one at that. She knew it’d behoove her to stop ignoring the elephant in the room. So with a sigh, she shook her head and corrected herself.

“Or do you mean you’re wondering how you’re still alive? Because I’d like to know that too.” She paused to close the distance between them, stopping just out of arm’s reach. “You’re so stupid for causing this, you know. You weren’t even the original target! We planned on killing Fennec, who was supposed to walk into the library instead of you. So if you weren’t so dumb, you wouldn’t be injured, and Neo and Sawbones would still be here.”

She smiled ruefully and continued, “So is that what you wanted to discuss? Because I’d be happy to talk about it.”

[ibukidoji-blog]

open no. 11 ~ who is the queen?

[sunnyset-blog1]

ibukidoji:

Shuten-douji is in a good mood.

There was drama last night. Even she found herself quite upset, and she couldn’t simply shrug it off. But for now, she’s in a good mood.

Shuten-douji’s smiling as she looks out the window in the ballroom, watching the snowy mountain peaks pass by, a gourd of sake in hand. There are new things to find in the train, but for now, she’s satisfied with admiring this scenery.

She hears someone enter the ballroom, and she grins at them. “She seems happy, you glare. About what?” Shuten-douji gestures outside, at the mountains.

“I feel right at home,” she giggles, drinking from her gourd. “The hot spring has returned. I can drink again, and have no cause for misery.” She holds a finger up. “You need not remind me what was lost last night,” she says curtly, then drinks again.

“And so? What brings you here? Have you come to shop?” she waves towards the door, to the gift shop. “Or are you to confess your sins in our brand new church?” Shuten-douji smiles.

She stays silently smiling for a good moment before Shuten-douji bursts out laughing. “A church! That…” she holds a hand over her mouth, attempting to stop her laughter. “That is what one does in a church, correct? Or are you to worship our Ruinous Overlord of Darkness?”

Under any other circumstances, Sunny would’ve laughed at the spectacle that was the current Dot. If this campy horror film version of Dot made her appearance a few days ago, she would’ve found her pretty amusing. But now Sunny only felt annoyed.

More aggravating than Dot, however, was the woman standing before her. Shuten-douji seemed to be in a pretty good mood, which made her own mood sour even further. She glowered at Shuten as she walked past her at a brusque pace. She wanted nothing to do with her, especially not now.

But as she passed her by, Sunny paused. Slowly she turned to face the other passenger. After glaring at her for a few more seconds, she piped up.

“Are you really so dumb you’re going to pretend it didn’t happen?” she asked. She didn’t bother trying to sound cute and cheery, instead letting the malice in her words overflow. “You’re cruel. But I know what you’re gonna say. ‘Oh, dear Cloudy, you flatter me!’” Her voice changed slightly as she imitated Shuten-douji’s in an exaggerated manner.

“Well, you know what?” she continued, back to her normal tone. “You can get over yourself. When’s someone gonna knock you down a peg, huh? You get away with all this shit, but I can’t even breathe without people getting angry. They wouldn’t even let me have Neo’s journal, when you’re the one who wronged him by stealing it.”

She shook her head, looking away from the victim of her tirade. The entire time she was ranting, the voice in the back of her mind had been telling her it wasn’t right to yell at her. Getting angry in front of someone wasn’t how you made friends with them. Not that she wanted to be Shuten-douji’s friend. Maybe the proper term was ‘not enemy.’

[sunnyset-blog1]

Sacrilege || Ch 5 || Open

Sunny had never been very religious. She attended church only on Easter and Christmas, and that was about it. But despite all the tragedies happening around her, she had no inclination of changing her religious habits. To pray now seemed like a waste of time. If they were going to be saved, they would’ve been by now.

Nevertheless, she eventually found herself in the church car. Her head had been pounding ever since Sawbones’ death and she needed a dim room to think. He had been stabbed right through the chest, over and over. And though she said he deserved it, was that actually true? In hindsight, Sepia was more the guilty party. If only she had died instead.

She visibly winced at her own morbid thoughts. Maybe death wasn’t fair to anyone. (Or maybe it was?) Her racing mind was driving her crazy, as was the loneliness. The train kept getting emptier, Sunny growing lonelier. If only there was a way to redeem herself… But no, that was ridiculous. If she acted like nothing was wrong now, people would get even angrier at her.

Which, if you thought about it, wasn’t fair at all.

With a sigh, she walked towards the podium at the front of the car. Situated on it was a bible. She frowned. Even if she wanted to read it, the lighting was too dim. Maybe that was another reason why she was here -- so she couldn’t read Neo’s journal. She’d been looking over it all day, but rereading it now would only make her headache worse.

It’d probably make her feel worse too, if that was even possible. She kept staring at the bible and anger began to rise up in her. She started shaking. What type of god thought it was okay to ruin people’s lives like this? Everyone kept dying, and she was stuck aboard with no way off. This was terrible! It was so unfair!

As her mind whirled, Sunny picked up the book before her and raised it into the air. She then pitched it at the windows with all the strength she could muster, yelling as she did so. It thudded against it, before pathetically dropping to the floor. If she was going to cry, now would be the time.

But no tears came. Instead, she was snapped out of her anger upon seeing movement out of the corner of her eye. She had an audience.

“What do you want?” she asked bitterly. She turned towards the person watching her as if she hadn’t just screamed and thrown a bible across the room.

[mistertalksalot-blog]

“Hey, Sunny? I wonder what it’s like to kill someone?" 

[ Art Credit ] 

[44plastickeys]

tuning hammer   |[ch. 4]|

[sunnyset-blog1]

44plastickeys:

That morning, he and Sunny had exchanged apologies. At the time he had thought they might be able to turn over a new leaf, but as he looked at her now Jackal felt nothing but agitation. Neither the gesture nor her vote could outweigh the threats she had made.

As the other passenger prattled on, the Russian began to understand how she and Neo got along so well. They shared the insufferable habit of expressing one thought after another in succession far too quick to follow. Each phrase blended with the next until every question asked and sentiment communicated existed within a single confusing heap of words. With his hand stalled halfway through his hair, Jackal did his best to sort out her meaning.

“If I am understanding,” he began, mulling over his phrasing. “I am not happy with what I did, but … I will thank you for your words. Even this lie at the end. For that, today I do not hate you—but.” Jackal took a step closer to Sunny. He leaned down and lowered his voice.

“If I hear you are not being nice to Sepia, I will hate you very, very fast. Understand?”

The relief that came with Jackal’s reassurance she wasn’t hated was short-lived. Of course things got more complicated with the man’s feelings for Sepia now in the picture. Sunny didn’t know what spawned such affections, but-- no, actually she did. She felt the same way about Neo.

To her, falling for people under such tense circumstances made sense. With so many emotions being brought into play, every feeling was heightened on the Echo Express. The fact even being alive was a gamble didn’t make the situation any better. That was why having someone to trust and rely on -- and who could trust and rely on you in return -- was a necessity. The desire for companionship seemed to intensify as vulnerability grew, which was why she latched onto Neo so quickly. She probably would’ve liked him even in daily life, but her heightened emotions led to things escalating much more quickly.

So maybe it wasn’t as confusing that he liked Sepia so much as it was surprising. After all, she never would’ve pegged Jackal as being someone as emotionally vulnerable as her. ...Well, maybe he was just better at hiding it.

She wrinkled her nose at the threat, trying to look annoyed instead of terrified. Despite her forgiving him, she couldn’t shake the truth from her mind: she was talking to a man who had killed on multiple occasions. Even if he had been put up to it, he was still a murderer.

“Fine, fine,” she said with a huff. “I’ll do my best to be nice.” She knew she sounded like an insolent child, but maybe this was for the best. Not talking back meant no hurt feelings or electric shocks.

“If it makes you feel any better, I understand where you’re coming from,” she added after a moment. “You care a lot about Sepia, don’t you? And based on what happened during the Theater, she feels the same way.” She smiled in an almost cat-like fashion, then giggled. “You’re not as strong as you look, I think. But I’m glad you’re being more open about your emotions. I bet she’ll appreciate it. Most girls like sensitive guys, ya know.”

[redpunkwannabe-blog]

Good Zone | Chapter 4 [OPEN]

[sunnyset-blog1]

redpunkwannabe:

“A girl needs her secrets? So, you’re lying…”

Red let out a heavy sigh. Typical. He was actually beginning to get used to Sunny’s behavior and found it somewhat… Endearing. He shuddered a bit at the thought, but maybe this was a sign that they were somehow getting closer?

No way.

“Hey, you got it! And let me guess… You can’t make any complaints, right? Hehe. Dot’s really not pulling any punches, huh? But you’re right! It’s time for us to get tough.”

Red flexed an arm and slapped his other hand down on his bicep with a small laugh. It was about time they shaped up. The last Macabre Theatre unveiled secrets that Red never could have imagined to be true. He thought he was really beginning to get the hang of all of this, but who knew what other secrets lurked aboard the Echo Express? 

“So… what’s your plan now after… ah… everything that has happened?”

Sunny couldn’t help but find it suspicious that Red was in such a good mood. Did not saying sorry really affect his mental outlook that much? Or was he really trying to rekindle their positive feelings towards each other this late in the game?

Well, humoring him was the least she could do. Actually it was the only thing she could do. If she were to even hint that he was making himself look silly, she might be given quite the shock. Ugh, this wasn’t fun at all.

She shrugged at his comment. “Well I bet she’s doing this make life… better for us.” She rolled her eyes at her own words. ‘Better’ wasn’t her original word choice, but she had to stick with it. “If you can’t apologize and I can’t complain, we’re basically forced to stay positive. Nice, right?” She didn’t smile.

She twirled a strand of hair between her fingers, continued, “I’m not sure what to do now, really. People are starting to act weird -- not that that’s a bad thing. It’s just different. I bet now that Fennec and Jackal let loose their secrets, everyone else will too. Whether they want to or not, you know? I don’t think I have that much to hide really. That’s good, right?” The corner of her lips twitched and they slowly formed a tiny smile.

“You know, Red, I don’t know much about you. Or anyone here aside from Neo, now that I think about it. It’s odd, especially given how much we’ve all been through. But now if you told me that you too killed someone and became their doppelganger because your pseudo-butler told you to, I couldn’t even tell you if I thought that was bad without repercussions. So really, I’m the the best confidant here these days.” She snorted. “I’ll accept you whether I want to or not.”

She then took a step towards him. “So tell me your secrets, okay? In return I’ll tell you mine. It’ll be a bonding experience, except more, er, refined.” Also not the word she wanted to use, but it’d have to do.

Plus she was hopeful for once… hopeful that making amends wasn’t so out of the question anymore. She had given up for awhile on trying to make friends, and as a result alienated nearly everyone around her. Either this rule was a blessing in disguise or she was starting to learn some important life lessons. Not that she could complain.

[sunnyset-blog1]

Pics or It Didn’t Happen || Ch 4 || Neo

If one good thing had come out of the ball and subsequent events, it was Sunny winning that game of ghost. Then again, that game round also led to everyone getting so fed up with her that she was no longer allowed to complain.

 Which was, objectively speaking, totally unfair. What if someone wronged her and she wasn’t allowed to protest? But it wasn’t like she could ask Dot about it. Not without getting electrocuted for ‘complaining.’

She stared down at the instant camera she received at such a high cost. Hopefully it could cheer her up. She stood in the observatory, trying to find a good angle for a picture. Despite the storm outside casting a sinister light on the eerie place, it still had the best lighting. She hadn’t stepped foot in the car since Chamomile’s death, which was a shame. It was quite pretty.

Finally she adopted the best pose she could think of (a cutesy smile accentuated with a peace sign) and took the picture. A flash went off, causing her to squeak in shock. She forgot instant cameras did that! A moment later, the camera printed out the photo. She took a pen out of her jacket pocket and scrawled something on the back. And then she began to shake the picture back and forth, turning back towards the exit as she did so.

She was halfway there when the car door opened. Her eyes widened and she hurried up to the newcomer -- Neo. Still waving the photo around (didn’t that make it show up faster?), she hugged him tight.

“I have something for you!” she said, pulling away. She looked at the picture she took, making a face. It had turned out a bit cheesier than she had hoped. Nevertheless, she handed it over to him. “I wrote something on the back, too!”

On the back of the polaroid (which was slowly becoming clearer) was a short message.

‘Dear Neo,

This way you can remember my smile, no matter what happens to us! I <3 you!!

xoxo, Sunny’

She beamed at him and held up the instant camera. “Now let’s take one together!”

[44plastickeys]

tuning hammer   |[ch. 4]|

[sunnyset-blog1]

44plastickeys:

Jackal’s knuckles were white around the pages of a book. To grip it with less force was to risk giving up on his task, and that he could not afford. He wore down the floor around the library’s central table with pacing, careful to keep his frustrated loops confined within the perimeter of lamplight.

The earliest locomotives had one pair of drivers, while the largest number of wheels driven from a single set of cylinders was six pairs. Because of their great size or—

He ground his teeth together. Despite his efforts to understand, every word he managed to read ricocheted right off his skull. His gaze fled to the ceiling.

Something was taking bites out of his insides, and this time it was not aspirin. He called to mind the crack of Dot’s cattle prod, the grievous twist of his parents’ faces, the weight of debt owed to his fellow passengers. Decades ago Jackal might have blamed hunger—the sensation was not far off, after all—but it was not that either. Not long ago he had made an earnest attempt to feed himself.

Much as he did not identify with high status any longer, Jackal had found that adjusting to a lifestyle absent of servitude was not as simple as he had imagined. Fennec had attended to his every need—often unbidden—and now that he understood just how many needs he had, Jackal was nothing short of overwhelmed. Perhaps it was that which set his gut to squirming. He dragged his gaze back to the book.

—or the need for flexibility, many locomotives had two engines - two sets of driving wheels, each powered by a set of—

The book shook in his hands. The Russian screwed up his face and flipped to a new page.

The pilot, which was gradually reduced in size from the “cowcatchers” of the mid-19th century, pushes aside obstructions. To accommodate brakemen, locomotives—

“Пошел ты!”

Punctuated by an unrestrained shout, Jackal wound up and threw the book hard at the far shelf. His arm was still following through on the throw when he met the eyes of another passenger. The book hit the floor with a smack.

“Excuse me,” Jackal muttered, straightening up. He pulled a tight frown. “I am not so good … at … learning.”

The train cars getting mixed around was disorienting to say the least. Sunny eventually found the library. She was there on a mission -- to think negative thoughts in private. As long as she didn’t voice her overwhelming distress, Dot couldn’t catch her, right? Though she wouldn’t be completely surprised of the strange woman had started reading minds.

Sunny entered the car just in time to see a book flying her way. She ducked aside just in time. In other situations she would’ve congratulated herself on such a smooth move, but not was not the time. She was too busy staring like a deer in headlights at Jackal.

He had murdered… but she had understood why. If Fennec had been pulling at her own strings that much, surely she would’ve broke too. But it was Jackal who had brought this punishment upon them. If only he had been harsher and less easy to sympathize with.

“Oh, Jackal,” she said curtly, now trapped by social convention. It was too late to turn tail and run, so she approached him. “Are you okay? You nearly hit me with a book…. not that I’m complaining or anything, hehe.” Her laugh was even more forced than her words.

The fear of getting cattle prodded was too great to risk getting angry at him. But Dot’s potential omnipresence didn’t stop her from being passive aggressive. “In fact, I can’t complain at all. This situation is great, don’t you think? But anyway, I think if I’m to clear the air…. Well, I believe you did the right thing. It was in self-defense, plus Fennec...” She trailed off, shaking her head. Going there would be going into dangerous territory. “Um, but yeah, I’m sorry you had to go through that. By the way, you don’t hate me anymore, right? Because I never hated you.”

[redpunkwannabe-blog]

Good Zone | Chapter 4 [OPEN]

[sunnyset-blog1]

redpunkwannabe:

After recovering from the harsh shock inflicted by Dot, Red left his room more cautious than ever. He was trying to see this punishment as a test of his new found strength, but would he be able to do it? He didn’t even realize when he was performing his action most times… He desperately needed to relax, and he knew just the thing to do. With his guitar and amp in hand he headed straight for the Lounge. 

“Okay, Red… Remember: it doesn’t have to be good. Just have fun with it.”

Red took a deep breath, his guitar strapped around his body and amp plugged in. He had been practicing a few songs by memory, but they kept sounding a bit off from the originals. However, he was finally feeling confident about one, and this would be his grand debut! …With no audience. Just the way he liked it.

[ x ]

He attempted to play the notes, and half of them didn’t come out so bad! The other half… well, he was still learning, alright? He found that trying to sing along helped, but parts of the lyrics escaped him. All in all it was a pretty mediocre performance, but the look on his face said it all. He was having an amazing time up there. 

Then he spotted someone watching him.

“Uh… Sor–” Red flinched. He had to be strong. Confident. “Ah… Hey.”

He quickly took off his guitar and propped it up next to Jackal’s piano. He brushed off his clothes and looked awkwardly at the other guest that had joined him in the Lounge. What was he supposed to say…?

“…How was I?”

Princess Dot would’ve been cute under any other circumstances, Sunny mused. It was a cute costume, but she came with such a commandeering attitude that it wasn’t worth it. Plus that whole forbidden action thing. Seeing Red get electrocuted was scarring enough, but knowing it could happen to her if she slipped up?

Well, guess it was time to be sunny.

She saw the electrocuted boy of the hour playing the guitar some time later. The lounge was empty aside from him. Sunny squinted -- just whom was he performing for? It wasn’t even that good a performance. But it wasn’t like she could complain or anything.

“Hi, Red,” she said, approaching him. “You want my honest opinion? Well, a girl needs her secrets, so instead I’ll say you were pretty great! You did your best, at least.”

She forced a smile, which quickly disappeared as she realized Dot could appear at any moment. She didn’t do her forbidden action though, right? Not technically speaking, right? She was tense anyway.

After she turned her gaze back to Red, she continued, “By the way, our whole extra rule thing… Yours isn’t saying sorry, is it? Hmph, this is so un-- um, uh, I mean very fair. It’s time for us to shape up, right?” Her eye twitched. This was going to be quite the long train ride.

[sunnyset-blog1]

Pseudo Prom Preparation || Ch 3 || Sepia

These days it was hard to choose which car was the worst to be in, but the lounge was definitely a contender. Yet Sunny found herself there, at the bar no less. She was sitting on a stool, staring absently into the distance. Sitting in front of her was a cup of green tea. She vaguely remembered hearing tea calmed your nerves and calmness was exactly what she needed right now.

However, the tea had hardly been touched. It was growing cold, in fact. She discovered this when she took a sip. Her face contorted into a look of distaste and she slowly slid off the stool. Her movements were almost mechanical as she went behind the bar to heat up more water. Perhaps it was weird to drink tea instead of alcohol, but she was tired of feeling drunk. And tired of feeling everything, really.

The water was still warming up when Sepia entered. She smiled. Though they weren’t on the best terms, she figured now was good a time as ever to fix things. The last thing she needed was for people to not trust her.

“Hi, Sepia,” she said, her voice unnaturally high and cheerful. “I’m making more tea. Do you want any?” Her smile wavered as she remembered that incident. It seemed so long ago. Time passed just as quickly as the train traveled. Yet she was certain the girl would be the type to remember the murder attempt, so she quickly added, “I didn’t do anything to it, by the way. Especially not after...”

She looked down at the water, then back up at Sepia. “...Maybe this is kinda dumb, but do you wanna start over? I think our personalities clash and plus you’re super antisocial, but if we’re going to get through this we need to be nice to each other.” Well, that sounded more passive aggressive than intended, but it was the thought that counts.

Sunny nodded, mostly to herself. “So we could always start by preparing for that dance together, y’know? It’d be like getting ready for prom, except kinda different. Are you any good at dancing?”

[sunnyset-blog1]

Read It and Weep || Ch 3 || Open

Another post-theatre morning, another post-theatre hangover. Sunny rubbed her eyes, squinting from the bright light. The reflection of the sun on the water was giving her a headache. As soon as the strange delinquent version of Dot was done talking, she quickly retreated to a less blinding car.

The library was an acceptable place. She wandered through the shelves, running her hand over the spines of the books. She didn’t bother to look at the titles; the thought of reading made her head hurt even more. It wasn’t surprising she felt worse than she last time this happened. She had had a long night investigating the murder of Pix, condemning Theo to a fiery death, and then fighting and crying with a certain friend of hers. She wrinkled her nose at the memories. There were so many dark ones -- more than she ever wanted to make in her lifetime. And they were all courtesy of the Echo Express.

By this time she had made a full trip around the car. She debated going back to the other cars, but the quiet of the library was so inviting. Eventually she sat down on the floor, leaning her back against one of the bookcases. And there she sat, wallowing in self-pity and self-hatred, until she noticed the door open.

She perked up at the sight of the newcomer and tried to smile. But it ended up more like a grimace than a grin.

“Hi,” she said, her own fake high voice hurting her ears. “Are you here to get away from the sun too?” She tried to smile again, this one softer and hopefully more genuine. “It’s nice in this car, you know? If I were up to it, I’d help you pick out a book. Though I don’t think I’m exactly well read, hah.”