The Convening - Chapter 1 Trial Outcomes

Roadie 🪶Jack

Jack was a little slow in registering the summons to the stand, but he hopped out of the jury box as soon as he could. Despite the loose boot. When had the laces come undone? He, uh, probably needed to fix that.

But the findings sufficiently distracted him. Ah, not guilty after all… What a joke. At least Neko-Neko wasn’t gonna kill everyone or whatever the punishment for being wrong was. Had that been in the notebook? He didn’t feel particularly pressed to check.

And things got much more distracting from there.

Matsu “Actually, [freak] all of you who said he wasn’t guilty. Who gives a [crap] if the vote is supposed to be about Atsuko? He still [freaking] killed someone – it’s not a crime he didn’t do. He deserves at least the same as Fenna.”

Taran “Matsu, you’re right, but Abel’s more right. If it wasn’t for the cat, or if it wasn’t for the train? Neither Jack or Fenna would be killing people.

Abel Lazarus “Do you think killers deserve to die, Ito? Is that just the line you draw? No matter what? Quite frankly Comedy didn’t deserve to die- nor did Samukura- but I won’t say that Jack or… Ms. Fenna deserves as much either.”

Vinzent Mayer If Comedy’s murder was counted, then I’d gladly send his [butt] to [heck] without hesitation!”

At least some of them were right, but sure not all. Wouldn’t kill otherwise? Didn’t deserve this? Please.

His chuckle broke off into a silent grin as he turned to the jury box. Not too far a hike. He started that way, his pace almost casual.

“Geez, what’s all this fuss over me about? I can settle the issue real easy. I deserve to die, ’r worse. Still killed a guy.”

Only after he hopped the railing to the jury box did he pull a knife and pick up the pace. Vinzent easily got out of the way, but Matsu just backed farther into their corner the closer he drew. Yeah, they’d do. Either woulda worked.

With a side-eye at Taran—“Not my first, an’ I’m guessin’ it won’t be my last. Unless—”

He lunged and snatched Matsu’s closest wrist, forcing their small fingers over his own—the ones wrapped around his knife hilt. Dipping just enough, he jerked their arm straight to put the blade right at his neck.

“Since you feel so strongly ’bout it, why don’t you just kill me yourself?”

Matsu

Taran “Matsu, you’re right, but Abel’s more right. If it wasn’t for the cat, or if it wasn’t for the train? Neither Jack or Fenna would be killing people. Hell, if you never got on board you wouldn’t have to deal with this."

Of course it would all wind up back at being their fault

Abel Lazarus "The rules state only the Correct killer for the case gets killed. Voting for Jack doesn’t guarantee he receives any punishment. It just ups the chances we all get the mistrial punishment. Which, mind you, is the only punishment that isn’t guaranteed to be Death.”

They weren’t going to admit they were wrong. They weren’t wrong! Abel was just being too… stupid. Or closed minded. Or something.

Do they think all killers should die? No. It’s just –

Matsukaze’s head is pounding as Vinzent tears in. The dirty look they’re giving Abel quickly transfers over to the artist, and unfortunately it escapes them that these two are literally two of the ones that kept them from drowning in the shipwreck.

Even more unfortunately, Jack’s movement into the jury box also escapes them at first, until Vinzent moves away. Their eyes widen and lock on the scarred man who is COMING STRAIGHT AT THEM. Reflexively, they stumble back only to have the banister of the jury box press into their back. Fuck. Fuck.

Roadie 🪶Jack “Not my first, an’ I’m guessin’ it won’t be my last. Unless—”

Matsukaze flinches as he lunges at them, but he just grabs their wrist tightly and forces his knife into their hand. Jerks their arm to put the blade to his own throat. If Jack was looking to scare anyone, it’s clear that Matsu is terrified.

It feels like their head is stuffed with cotton.

The fire and anger isn’t gone, not in the least, but now they’re being given a choice.

They could do it. They could lunge at him with their full strength, slit his throat in front of everyone.

Or… could they? The grip he has on their hand is tight, enough that it hurts. He surely could prevent them from doing anything he didn’t want them to do. He could also force the blade right back at them so easily. He’s doing this because he doesn’'t think they’re a threat. He doesn’t take them seriously.

All of these realizations happen in seconds, and there’s just a moment where Matsukaze stays frozen. When they move, they don’t push into his throat (not yet, at least).

Instead, they kick at his left shin as hard as they can manage, even at the cost of their own balance.

Viper

Pocketing the strange item she’d picked up from by the defence bench, Viper was contented to vibe out here- but Matsu’s words cut through her thoughts.

Matsu “Glad you do hate what’s-their-face enough to not give a shit that they just got murdered like that. Glad you’re fucking besties with that clown.” Their tone is scathing. “So Fenna shoots someone and that’s worth punching Haruka in the face, but this Jack-ass can just smash someone’s head in without any repercussion? Fuck you.”

“Smiley-mask fella was actually pretty nice, I’ll have ya know.” Viper replies tartly, “They didn’t deserve ta die, but… neither did Atsuko. And here we are.” She rolls her eyes at the comment about Haruka, and folds her arms as she finally starts walking back toward the jury box.

“Why are ya actin’ like I meant ta hit her in the face? That’s normally what happens when ya jump in front of a swingin’ fist.” Viper scoffs, but there’s… hurt. Deep down in there. She didn’t want to be having this quarrel with Matsu, and yet…

…She’d brought it upon herself, hadn’t she? Perhaps people were right to hate her.

Taran But we’re all stuck here, and we- you! AND VIPER!- need to start acting like it. Or you’re gonna make me a liar.”

“…Me? Little ol’ me?” VIPER. “Sorry, I ain’t exactly sugarcoatin’ myself or anythin’. It’s jus’ what I’m like.” Viper shrugs, “…But maybe ya could convince me yet. Ya’re nice, Taran.” She really shouldn’t be tormenting everyone like this.

Someone would decide they’d had enough before long and–

She shouldn’t think about that. Viper didn’t think about that, not often.

Roadie 🪶Jack Only after he hopped the railing to the jury box did he pull a knife and pick up the pace. Vinzent easily got out of the way, but Matsu just backed farther into their corner the closer he drew. Yeah, they’d do. Either woulda worked.

…

Jack. What was he doing? Viper snaps out of her thoughts in an instant. He was so insistent on making everyone hate him even more, why, oh why did he have to go after Matsu of all people?! Now she’d seem like a total ass.

Well, Viper wasn’t even considering the latter point. Her blood ran cold as Jack advanced, backing them into that corner and then he lunged-

Roadie 🪶Jack He lunged and snatched Matsu’s closest wrist, forcing their small fingers over his own—the ones wrapped around his knife hilt. Dipping just enough, he jerked their arm straight to put the blade right at his neck.

Get off them. Get off. Get off get off get off get off

She was moving before she even had a chance to realise what she was doing.

“LEAVE THEM THE F-CK ALONE!” Her face burned with rage, as Matsu kicked him, Viper took the opportunity to get between the pair of them, grabbing at Jack’s arm and pushing it away from his neck. “If ya wanna f-ckin’ fight someone, I’m right here. I’ll f-ckin do it. Jus’ don’t make Matsu do it.” She grips, tighter and tighter.

Get off of them get off don’t hurt them

“So?” Viper was visibly bristling, her lip curled in a sneer, for once wishing she was taller so she could stand a bit more at Jack’s eye level. She regretted backing him up. Saying such nice things about him, giving him the gift of sympathy. She’d probably still get over it, sure, but…

Helping Matsukaze was her priority right now.

Why were other people not doing anything? why were they just watching this happen? why why why why-

Was she one of the only ones who didn’t wish death on Jack? For Matsukaze to not be hurt?

Cowards. The lot of them.

Vinzent Mayer

Fenna Van Daalen “I wish dat too, dear. Yer a good kid.”

Kid… Well, Guess that’s a force of habit and, he hasn’t told her he’s actually 26 at all. No need to get in these pointless details, as there’s no much time left, Her answer was appreciated at least even if it’s… Hurting.

Fenna Van Daalen shit, had she seen that kind of anger out of Vinzent before?

Indeed she has not. He has gotten angry before but never in front of Fenna. Or… Abel, even, Vinzent did show anger, yes, but it was more when he was retelling his story to him, it wasn’t to him. The people who hasn’t seen him getting that angry has gone from many to presumably zero now. Funny, he used to have a short wick back when he was younger. But he learned to keep these emotions in and basically let it all explode when he wasn’t able to keep the lid closed…

There’s not even a moment to catch a break for him, or for anyone really huh. More chaos ensued, especially after Jack has once again started more shit. Seeing him approach with a knife did send Vinzent in a panicked state. Oh shit, fuck. Fuck fuck fuck-

Roadie 🪶Jack Only after he hopped the railing to the jury box did he pull a knife and pick up the pace. Vinzent easily got out of the way, but Matsu just backed farther into their corner the closer he drew. Yeah, they’d do. Either woulda worked.

… Just because he got out of the way doesn’t mean Vinzent was happy Matsu was the one who got cornered. Then, everything did not happen as he thought.

Roadie 🪶Jack He lunged and snatched Matsu’s closest wrist, forcing their small fingers over his own—the ones wrapped around his knife hilt. Dipping just enough, he jerked their arm straight to put the blade right at his neck.

“The fuck are you doing?!” Did he always hate this man’s guts? Yes. Did he have thoughts about slamming his face on the hard surface or whatever many times whenever Jack opened his mouth? Yes.

Did he want to kill Jack?

… That, he wasn’t too keen. But… Hurting him, maybe. Maybe it would have drawn some satisfication from Vinzent. To finally get back at the ones who hurt him. To make them feel pain and no happiness. Just, revenge. Revenge…

He’s been always told revenge doesn’t solve things. And as of now, there’s only one guy he still wants dead and he’s not even here.

…

Hopefully he ate shit in the meantime Vinzent is on this train. That’d be funny.

… Maybe it wouldn’t be so in the end.

Watching Matsukaze kicking Jack in the shin was… Well, it was something! At least they didn’t kill him. Despite their attitude and his frequent clashes with them, Vinzent really doesn’t want Matsu to die either.

He didn’t get a chance to talk as Viper spoke up, huh. She’s getting hard to read. Like a wildcard. Of course he wants Matsu to be free of Jack’s grip.

Then R.N.A. intervened. Again, as obnoxious they were…

They were right.

And to think he could have been the one to hold the knife close. To have his hand in Jack’s grip.

What. The hell is Jack’s deal. Is he willing to run at the death’s door so much to drag someone with him? Is this what he wants?

He can eat shit alone, for all Vinzent cares. But don’t drag people down with you.

He considered, REALLY considered freeing Matsu of Jack’s grip, but… Is that going to make it worse? Especially with how weak he is. If he does try… Would he be a fool? If he doesn’t… He’ll be a coward.

“Leave them be. Don’t drag them in your stupid spectacle! I’m sick of your shit, Jack! Everyone is! But that doesn’t mean we want this to happen!”

Viper Was she one of the only ones who didn’t wish death on Jack? For Matsukaze to not be hurt?

Cowards. The lot of them.

He might be a coward in wishing Jack dead but he won’t be a coward in NOT wishing for Matsu to be hurt. Should he let Viper handle this, as much as she’s really hard to read? Or to understand?

…

He’s just good at trying to run away, isn’t he.

Maybe he was really a coward in the end.

Melvin Greene

Narrator “…I CANNOT SEE, I CANNOT ACT, I MAY ONLY JUDGE. FORGIVE ME…”

Yeah, that’s not good.

Didn’t seem like there were many laws under Murdercat’s jurisdiction except ‘kill people’ and ‘die.’ Which was just great, considering how badly he wanted to do neither of those things. Everyone got all mad about Atsuko and Comedy dying, rightfully so, but a lot of people seemed to be kinda forgetting about something the cat had said. And look, okay, Melvin knows his memory isn’t great either, but it’s hard not to remember something ‘and if everyone else figures out you did it, you also die, because that’s more exciting and also I’m a stupid evil robot and I suck, nyahahahahaha.’

… Okay, maybe they hadn’t said that last part. But Fenna was about to get the chair or whatever and instead of extending any real sympathy, some people were too busy arguing about Jack. He really did not care to get into the entire debate about whether or not the guy also deserved to die for killing someone whose death ‘didn’t count.’ Or what a death ‘not counting’ implied. Just hearing it made him feel a little sick. That’s what this was, this was all sick, they were all fucking sick for treating the situation like this. Like it ever would have happened otherwise, like it ever should have been their call to make. At least Taran and Abel were making sense. Good. Someone had to. Even if Abel had been doing… whatever the ever-loving hell he had been doing earlier. Abel’s kind of freaking him out today. Taran’s still cool.

Vinzent Mayer If Comedy’s murder was counted, then I’d gladly send his ass to hell without hesitation!

Mental note: if you piss Vinzent off enough he will send you to hell without hesitation provided the opportunity. Maybe he should speed up that apology he’s been putting off, jesus christ, what the hell, he’d seemed like one of the normal ones!?!? Don’t get him wrong, he hates Jack too, and… if it was gonna be anyone here Melvin would definitely miss him the least, but holy shit, not like this. He doesn’t want anything to do with it. Once again he wishes he just slept in his stupid broken down car and didn’t get on this stupid train. Never woulda met any of these people and never woulda felt a thing about it. Now he’s gotta deal with all this stupid arguing and dying shit. It sucks!

Fenna Van Daalen “I appreciate dat… but… I get the feelin’ dis is my last stop.”

Yeah. Sure was, wasn’t it. He really wishes he knew better what to say right now. Maybe literally anything expressing an appreciation of her kindness and that she’d be missed or something? But nope. Never been any good at that. It’s still kind of difficult to wrap his head around the fact that he could have, did, does consider her a friend for reasons that WEREN’T superficial.

“Why didn’t you just let Dexter keep at it? You had something worth going back for.”

It’s easy to say that after the fact. Despite everything, he did prefer being alive. He’d have probably felt at least a little betrayed, but whatever, maybe at least it would have helped someone he actually liked. The thing was, she didn’t even let it happen passively. As soon as the idea was even suggested, she was the first to shoot it down. Strange behaviour from a cold-blooded killer, since apparently that’s what half the room thought Fenna was now. Viper was still Vipering all over the place as if it was totally Haruka’s fault that she punched them, because apparently that was totally justified but nothing else was. This was a new low, but surely now it couldn’t get any worse.

Roadie 🪶Jack “Since you feel so strongly ’bout it, why don’t you just kill me yourself?”

God. Damn. It.

This is so cool and great. It’s really awesome that somebody else is once again about to get murdered in here in front of literally everyone, that was something he was interested in seeing today. For quite possibly the first time, he’s kind of glad R.N.A is here, if only for their unstabbability. Makes them a perfect force to de-escalate the situation. He feels a little faint after that because he was straight up fully convinced it was about to turn into a third homicide. He wasn’t even in the line of fire and his heart’s pounding like it wants to kill him, too. He fiddles with the brim of his cap so he doesn’t have to even look at anyone he doesn’t wanna see, which is pretty much almost everybody right now.

“… Bunch of wild fucking animals in here.”

That’s all he’s got. Maybe Neko-Neko should just let them stay here and finish tearing each other apart if that’s what they want so badly.

Roadie 🪶Jack

Matsu Instead, they kick at his left shin as hard as they can manage, even at the cost of their own balance.

Their foot hit at full force, and Jack flinched a little harder than you’d expect from Mr. Tough Guy. Ahaha… Was that all?

More people spoke, but only the up close and personal had a chance of reaching him at this point—mentally or physically.

But there sure was plenty of that.

Viper “LEAVE THEM THE F-CK ALONE!” Her face burned with rage, as Matsu kicked him, Viper took the opportunity to get between the pair of them, grabbing at Jack’s arm and pushing it away from his neck. “If ya wanna f-ckin’ fight someone, I’m right here. I’ll f-ckin do it. Jus’ don’t make Matsu do it.”

Jack had explicit anti-dodging intent for this whole stunt, so no fancy moves came to stop that. A little resistance to moving the knife the wrong way, but only just. Something melancholy crossed his gaze, but he dismissed it quickly enough.

“If this’s whatcha think me fighting looks like, guess we really are due for a match.”

He made no move to strike, though.

“ ‘m not makin’ anybody do anything. Just providing an opportunity. It’s a rare one.”

R.N.A. without even a hint of hesitation or fear, R.N.A. reached up and closed their hand around the blade. They pushed, creating space for their metal fingers to worm around until they served as an iron barrier between blade and any flesh.

He scowled briefly at that one. The creeping bloodstain just visible over the top of his boot likely wasn’t helping his mood.

“You’re gonna dull the blade, c’mon. Hands off.”

R.N.A. “YOU DO NOT. DESERVE TO DIE.

DO NOT DRAG. MATSUKAZE INTO THIS. INTO YOUR SELF-LOATHING. RELEASE THEIR HAND. NOW.”

He laughed, strained.

“Drag ’em into what now? The loathing’s all theirs—weren’t you listening?”

“ ‘n here I thought you wanted us to all hold hands and be friends.”

No point hanging on to them now, anyway. This wasn’t something anybody’d go through with once the heat of the moment had passed. He didn’t know what he’d expected. But he’d sure gotten everyone up in arms, so it was funny, right?

Then why did he just feel tired?

Vinzent Mayer I’m sick of your shit, Jack! Everyone is! But that doesn’t mean we want this to happen!”

“…Do too. Just not enough to do the honors yourself.”

He laughed, but it died out swiftly. He wasn’t quite standing steady, either. Even if he wasn’t exactly bleeding out, it was becoming clearer and clearer that he was barely hanging onto consciousness by the fingernails.

He whacked his injured shin into the railing or robot or whatever was close enough and grunted. Good. Stay awake. Stay awake.

It would always be better than facing those memories again.

Fenna Van Daalen

Fenna wasn’t sure what to expect after the statue read out the verdict. It wasn’t like she’d killed someone before, after all. At first, there was an awkward silence as she scanned the jury, but eventually it was broken by Vinzent.

Vinzent Mayer “I wish we could have talked more. Perhaps things could have been different.”

“I wish dat too, dear. Yer a good kid.”

She knew better than to light a cigarette that’s been soaked in saltwater, but she needed something, damn it. She wasn’t too old to play pretend.

Dexter Blanche “Your son, Miss Fenna. When I disembark this train, I will do my best to find them. Its only right, I believe, that they know what happened.”

“…Would ya really? I know I ain’t got a right ta ask, but… The address was…”

She pulled a sheet out of her mascot-assigned notebook and wrote down the address as best she could remember from her letter. Hopefully it was right… Wasn’t like she could double-check now.

R.N.A. “Miss Fenna, I apologise… that things ended up this way… But when you come back from your… punishment… I will try to assist you in… exiting the train.”

“I appreciate dat… but… I get the feelin’ dis is my last stop.”

She looked over to the new statue guarding the path to the “punishment chamber.” Something was wrong here, right? Why’d that judge statue been so worried… and Neko-Neko so excited? Fenna knew her own horrible, terrible luck, and it certainly wouldn’t pull through for her now.

And then the bickering started. Fenna still wasn’t sure what the hell Viper’s problem was– did something happen between her and Atsuko?– but her rebellious actions weren’t unexpected by now. Nor was Matsu’s outburst, though she was a little surprised at the relative sympathy. And Taran, the loyal catboy…

Taran “You may not have been right to do this, but you were damn right about why. I’m with Dexter, somebody here is gonna get off of this fucking train, and they’re going to find your son and keep him safe.”

“Yous too… I’m… sorry I lied to ya–”

Alarm filled her eyes as the situation escalated quickly. Viper set off Matsu who set off Abel and Vinzent– shit, had she seen that kind of anger out of Vinzent before? There was the incident with Asuka, but she hadn’t entirely believed he could really…

Then Jack hopped the railing and she saw the glint of a knife. She couldn’t make it over there in time.

“H-hey! Somebody stop ’im– or– what?”

Jesus, two people were dead, hadn’t there been enough chaos already? She hadn’t even begun to explain what actually happened…

Dexter Blanche

“Ah, forgive me for speaking out of turn, but must we dig into eachother at a time like this? I implore you all to please… leave Mx. Matsukaze alone.”

He apologizes in his head, he doesn’t know Matsu’s surname, so this must come across as very familiar. But, who knows. Maybe Dexter was just sticking up for the fellow Voted Jack Guilty Crew, or maybe the yelling just gave him a headache. Who can say.

Should he… do something about Jack literally forcing a knife into someone’s hands and then holding it to his own throat? That FEELS like something that he should do something about.

But it’s clear from Matsukaze’s expression that nothing will come of it. There’s a part of Dexter that scoffs. <“Coward, false bravado. He’d never do it with someone he knows would actually follow through”> he thinks, silently, to himself.

“Ah… come now, Mr. Jack. This is unnecessary.”

…Is all that he Musters. Perhaps he’s a coward too for not moving, his hands still clutched on his camera? For not bravely stepping to action? Well. Dexter can live with that he decides pretty quickly.

“Must you all make Miss Fenna’s last moments so… terrible? Pity.”

R.N.A.

No.

NO.

Whatever R.N.A. had in their programming was erased the moment Jack pulled the knife out. It was as if the shiny metal was a magnet, drawing all of R.N.A.'s attention away from everything else.

Could a robot have limits? R.N.A. had no idea. All that they knew was that inaction had created one horrible situation, and it was close to causing another. But this time, R.N.A. had a chance to do something. To stop it. To break the cycle. Break the chains.

Walking over calmly to the two (now three), without even a hint of hesitation or fear, R.N.A. reached up and closed their hand around the blade. They pushed, creating space for their metal fingers to worm around until they served as an iron barrier between blade and any flesh.

“YOU DO NOT. DESERVE TO DIE. NOBODY DESERVES TO BE MURDERED. UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.” For a rather normally placid robot, you could almost feel the anger dripping off of every single word. “DO NOT DRAG. MATSUKAZE INTO THIS. INTO YOUR SELF-LOATHING. RELEASE THEIR HAND. NOW.” Oddly authoritative for a robot that normally took orders from others…

Fenna Van Daalen

Now left alone at the stand, Fenna watched the violence unfold with her eyes wide as plates. She sure was missing her bouncer right now. What was with these people? Maybe Melvin, Arty and Taran were fine, but they sure wouldn’t be after all this– and the rest of them? She’d barely had time to scratch the surface of whatever the hell was wrong with them.

Maybe in another life she coulda lent them an ear if they’d shown up at her bar, one at a time, willingly. But here on this train, with death lingering at every turn? God help these poor assholes.

Only after Jack had been subdued did she make her way back to the jury box.

Abel Lazarus “Thank you.” Is that it? Didn’t Marius once tell him apologizing is important? “I’m sorry.”

She looked a little confused by Abel’s gesture, but it obviously meant a lot to him– she squeezed his hand back solemnly.

Melvin Greene “Why didn’t you just let Dexter keep at it? You had something worth going back for.”

“I mean, as soon as the shoes came up, the jig was up, right? But I’d been thinkin’ already… ya know, I didn’t know what would happen to yous guys if I did pull it off. If it was as bad as what happened ta Abel…”

“I gatta say, though, now dat I see the way yous people are actin’– Jesus christ! That cat don’t even gatta lift a finger fer yous ta tear each other apart, huh?”

There’s a long, hissing sigh as she took a drag off the unlit cigarette. Tastes horrible.

“If yous’ll hear me out, I’ll tell ya what happened. Maybe it can be a… warnin’. Or some sorta closure. Or yous can just ignore me an’ keep on wid your bullshit. Dahsen’t make much difference ta me now.”

Viper

There was something wrong with Jack. He was… he was Jack, but he was also not Jack. He may have challenged her to a fight, but this wasn’t the Jack she’d gotten to know so far. Something… felt off. The little unsteadiness in his gait makes her look down and her eyes widen at the creeping bloodstain.

He’s bleeding. Oh sh-t, he’s bleeding. He could bleed out and someone here could be deemed responsible-

Viper glances fervently to her side, to her chair, and scurries just those couple steps away to find something to try and dampen the blood with. She still had a little of that bandage from Comedy left, right? Or even some of that fabric that had been bloodied before-

Finding her quarry in the form of the fabric scraps, she turned her attention back to the assembled group. Using her position from Jack’s side, in a quick, swift movement she delivered a sharp, yet not overly forceful kick to the back of his knees. It probably hurt, but would do little for lasting damage.

“…Ya sittin’ down now, butthole.” Jack has lost his standing privileges. Viper tossed the fabric scraps onto him as she essentially pushed him to the ground, back up against the railing- narrowly avoiding RNA in the process. “Someone come over here and stop this idiot bleeding out?” She hopped up onto the railing, sitting her butt on it, her legs pressing either of his shoulders back against the rails, her heels tucked under his arms to stop him from getting up.

“You.” She leans down, staring at Jack, heels pressing him backwards harder. “…Stay there. Don’t even think about stabbing me. Much as most people hate ya an’ I’m p-ssed off, I ain’t gonna just let ya bleed yaself to death.” She huffs. “Stop bein’ too much of a hard-ss to admit ya bein’ a martyr.” Hypocrite much?

Abel Lazarus

Vinzent Mayer then I’d gladly send his ass to hell without hesitation!”

Well this mine was so unexpected the person setting them didn’t even know it was there until it exploded.

Maybe when Abel is less emotional he can realize there’s no way this was on purpose- perhaps it might not have even set him off if it hadn’t been so clear God was truly fed up with him. This had to be on purpose, right? All of this? Fenna, the alcohol, The rock, the reference- Dexter didn’t know it was loaded. Fenna didn’t know it was loaded-

But Abel feels somewhere in his deeply emotional response that Vinzent should have known it was loaded. That he should have known this is exactly something Ramona would have said about Marius.

Vinzent earned a look of utter Betrayal for adding to a dog pile he surely didn’t know he would trip into.

And then of course. Jack’s stunt. Abel’s truly sick of the man now. Of Viper babying him. He’s sick of everyone. All of them. Well.

Strangely enough he’s not precisely sick of four among the group- but at this Very Strong Moment of Emotion he hardly cares about the semantics at play.

Viper “Someone come over here and stop this idiot bleeding out?”

And this. Abel doesn’t remember bleeding out too clearly but he remembers who truly helped and who did less with more clarity as time goes on. Viper didn’t show him the same care then. She’d helped him- he remembered that fuzzily- just not much. She’d definitely not cared this much. Jack stabbed her. Jack stabbed her and she Cared About Him More. He isn’t even bleeding out. Nothing. Compared. To. Abel.

But this has always been his life hasn’t it? Only Marius looked for him first.

Truly he’s as alone as he’s ever been. He’s ever felt. He could get along on the company of a select handful every so often and rot away on this dumb train. Maybe someone will do him a favor get rid of him.

How dumb to have had Hope.

He walks away from the Jack situation without another look back. Towards Fenna. In a strangely intense display he takes her hand. It’s not. Rough surprisingly. More so like he just needed her to pay attention to Him. Not the mess behind him. Him.

But what did he want to say to her? Thank her? For… the little care she gave? The. Bits of effort he received when he let her?

“Thank you.” Is that it? Didn’t Marius once tell him apologizing is important? “I’m sorry.” And he lets her go. He lets all of this go. He doesn’t need it anymore. He doesn’t need the guilt. Maybe that’ll only alleviate a smidgen of it but he doesn’t care.

As long as it’s enough. To get him through.

Roadie 🪶Jack

Even with the refreshed injury, it was hard for Jack to hang onto consciousness. He certainly couldn’t pay much attention to all the other people here. At least he stayed in his own skin.

Viper Using her position from Jack’s side, in a quick, swift movement she delivered a sharp, yet not overly forceful kick to the back of his knees.

But not on his own feet. His rear hit the floor—“Oof”—as his brain frantically and poorly tried to make sense of the shift in surroundings. A wave of nausea hit. He couldn’t make heads or tails of the little bitty fabric scraps coming at him but reflexively caught a few anyway. Hey uhhh free stuff?

Viper She hopped up onto the railing, sitting her butt on it, her legs pressing either of his shoulders back against the rails, her heels tucked under his arms to stop him from getting up.

Oh, this was annoying. Not wanting to crane his neck and upset his altitude conversions any worse, he aimed a withering glare at some of the chair legs. Maybe it would bounce off and hit her somehow.

Or she could lean over to stare at him anyway. His eyelid twitched at her heels digging in further, but bucking her off didn’t seem worth the effort. Would he even be able to stand after something like that? He could if he had to, always could if he had to, but… Enough had happened already. If this didn’t turn dire, he really couldn’t see the point in fighting here.

Viper “…Stay there. Don’t even think about stabbing me. Much as most people hate ya an’ I’m p-ssed off, I ain’t gonna just let ya bleed yaself to death.”

Having completely missed her cry for help earlier, he just squinted hard. Glanced down at the bloodstain on his leg, which had hardly grown. Squinted back at her.

“ ’m not remotely close to bleedin’ out.” An exhale that didn’t quite have enough energy to count as a snort. “ ‘nd ’ve been close.”

Finally registering his voice was barely loud enough to hear, he winced and took a deep breath. He could be louder. It was fine. Everything was still fine. His vision wouldn’t quite focus, but he didn’t need it that badly and this would pass soon enough.

“Got perfectly good styptic… ‘f y’ take back the not thinking ’bout stabbing you part.”

Eyeing her warily, he carefully withdrew a jar from his pocket.

Vinzent Mayer

Abel Lazarus Well this mine was so unexpected the person setting them didn’t even know it was there until it exploded.

Maybe when Abel is less emotional he can realize there’s no way this was on purpose- perhaps it might not have even set him off if it hadn’t been so clear God was truly fed up with him. This had to be on purpose, right? All of this? Fenna, the alcohol, The rock, the reference- Dexter didn’t know it was loaded. Fenna didn’t know it was loaded-

But Abel feels somewhere in his deeply emotional response that Vinzent should have known it was loaded. That he should have known this is exactly something Ramona would have said about Marius.

Vinzent earned a look of utter Betrayal for adding to a dog pile he surely didn’t know he would trip into.

The stare Vinzent felt was… Unusual. Anything during the conversation by the rest of the people felt like background noise. It, either thankfully or not, didn’t take long for him to realize why he was stared at by Abel of all people. And not for a good reason.

Oh no.

“…”

Oh no, no no no. No. No.

How much more is he going to cry? He really fucked it up there, didn’t he?

He shouldn’t have said these particular set of words. He should have known.

HE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN.

But… He didn’t cry much this time. Only a few more teardrops. But that’s about it.

The rest? It’s eating him away. Nothing else matters.

He simply watched as Abel left, To talk to Fenna.

If it wasn’t bad before…

He really killed all chances to try to talk to Abel again, hasn’t he?

The only sound he managed to let out…

Was simply a strangled…

I’m sorry. Please don’t leave me.

Nothing else mattered anymore.

Nothing. Can this end?

Can he go already? He just wants to leave.

He regrets saying things that shouldn’t be said.

He regrets letting emotion taking over reason.

He’ll end up all alone at this point. Just like before.

Matsu

He flinches, sure, but Jack doesn’t let go or back off. What if he tried to stab them, now? His grip on their hand is tight. It’s hard to breathe.

Everything else in the room is a blur. They can see movement rushing towards them, but they don’t look away from the knife.

Viper pushes into them just as they start to put pressure to the knife – enough that Jack likely noticed they were starting to go for it – and in the process of wedging herself between them and shoving the blade away from Jack’s throat jostles them quite a bit. They stagger a little, thankfully with the railing pressing into their back, and even though Viper wasn’t trying to shove them they still feel a shoot of pain in their elbow and their hand and wrist where Jack had a hold on them. At least her intrusion kept them from acting rashly.

Not that it mattered, since R.N.A. quickly had a grasp on the blade itself and started to dig into Jack verbally.

Everyone was shouting and yelling for Jack to leave them alone, to not bring them into this – “It’s not self loathing!” they do snap at R.N.A., though they are clearly shaken. The moment Jack loosens the grip on their hand, they jerk back, just wanting to get away from his grasp.

But then.

Viper leaves.

And they’re still stuck between the railing and Jack, even if R.N.A. is here with the knife under control.

Matsukaze starts to try and get away, trying to slide to the side and get more space between them. Conveniently, Viper was only gone a moment, and she’s probably coming to help them, right?

Right?

They’re left standing there while she forces Jack to sit and starts doting on him. Scolding him while asking for someone to give medical help – medical help to the guy who stabbed her, killed someone, and had attacked them? Medical help for… well whatever it was, it was their self defense that made it start bleeding like that.

But no one checked on them. No one even asked if they were ok. Abel is just walking away and everyone is just watching and god, did Viper even look at them? Obviously her claim of besties was bullshit, they were stupid for even starting to entertain it after she helped them.

Matsu puts a few more steps between them and Jack, rubbing at their hand. It would be fine, they’re sure, but now both of their hands hurt. Their elbow is still throbbing. And no one cares.

Somehow, they feel even more alone in these few seconds than they have in years.

Viper

So painfully oblivious to the pain she was causing to those she cared about, Viper was so preoccupied with Jack she missed every single cue they gave her. Abel, Matsukaze, even Vinzent now- although he was more upset with how he had upset Abel. Even Haruka… she was truly a disappointment. A thought she would come to think after the trial was over, but it was certainly manifesting in the back of her mind like a dark cloud.

But don’t worry about her! She’s fine! Definitely not also at risk of opening her wounds with her decision to perform such amateur acrobatics and parkour in the courtroom.

Fenna Van Daalen “I gatta say, though, now dat I see the way yous people are actin’– Jesus christ! That cat don’t even gatta lift a finger fer yous ta tear each other apart, huh?”

“Eh? It’s just a bit’a fun.” Viper is looking down at Jack. Yeah, that’s all it was. No bad emotional regulation, pushing people away, forcing them to hate her, to not care… “At least three fights I’ve been in have been agreed on.” …That wasn’t the point. It’s clear she knows it wasn’t the point either by the way she looks at the ground.

“Cat’s gonna have ta try a lot harder for anyone else ta snap like ’dat.” …She picked that one up from Fenna? “Not like ya gotta worry ’bout us for much longer, though.” Viper shrugs.

Fenna Van Daalen “If yous’ll hear me out, I’ll tell ya what happened. Maybe it can be a… warnin’. Or some sorta closure. Or yous can just ignore me an’ keep on wid your bullshit. Dahsen’t make much difference ta me now.”

“That’s th’ spirit!” Viper sounded far too cheerful saying that, but she continued with, “I’ll bite. Explain away, killer. Let us hear what ya mind was thinkin’ when ya brutalised ’Suko like that.”

As she was fixing Fenna with an intense stare, a rustling from Jack had her attention snapping downward so fast that she nearly gave herself whiplash. And then, she spotted it, just after he spoke.

Roadie 🪶Jack “Got perfectly good styptic… ‘f y’ take back the not thinking ’bout stabbing you part.”

“Oh, I take it back tenfold, good sir.” Viper snorted, her eyes following the jar as it left his pocket like a predator tracking its prey. She was aware he was watching, and she followed it with her gaze as he applied it to his leg. It would be so helpful to have… Just a little closer…

The lid went back on, and as Jack moved to put it back in his pocket, she struck. Viper grabbed hold of the lid of the jar for a split-second before it was stuffed back into his pocket. Even with his reflexes dampened by his exhaustion and the fact he was fighting to stay conscious, Jack had still managed to whip the jar from her reach just quick enough to avoid her grabbing it for herself.

For a second the pair borderline squabbled as Viper tried to reach for it with her other hand, almost unbalancing herself from the railing in the process, but it was in Jack’s pocket again before it could cause too much issue.

“RRRRRGH! So close!” …Why does she care so much about his stupid jar? Viper pouted, sitting back up and instead focusing on holding him down again. “I’ll get that jar eventually. That goop…” …Viper was still mad at him, sure, but… maybe she felt a little better after that little one-sided banter.

Haruka Yukimura

What was going on?! Emotions were running high, of course, but Haruka could hardly believe the amount of fighting that was still happening. Hadn’t her earlier intervention been enough to dissuade people? She wanted to go and get in between this latest melee, but she was finding herself a little too faint all of a sudden… Instead, she sat back in her seat and continued to dab away at her mouth.

At least RNA was there to help defuse the situation. Well, to try, at least… She wasn’t really sure why so many people seemed to have an issue with them. They were clearly trying to help, even if she still wasn’t sure what to think about the whole robot thing. But it was clear that people were still getting hurt.

“Everyone. Please. Acting on your anger will only make you feel worse later. I only have so many medical supplies.”

That was about as stern as Haruka got. She would of course endeavour to help out everyone as much as possible, still, but she was really starting to get concerned. What were the chances of finding another gacha to give them supplies again?

She certainly hoped she didn’t run out of her own.

Anyway, while the group were sorting themselves out, there was still one person who should have been the focus here, who had ended up fading into the background amongst all this.

Haruka turned to Fenna and sighed softly.

“You know what you did was wrong, and… that’s really all I can ask for. A parent will do anything for their child’s safety, I know that… I’m sorry that the situation led to this. I don’t know if you would appreciate prayers, but I offer mine, if you like… I don’t know what else to do. I’m sorry, Fenna…”

The sadness was auidble in her voice. Knowing that she couldn’t change anything weighed heavily on her heart.

Fenna Van Daalen

Viper “That’s th’ spirit!” Viper sounded far too cheerful saying that, but she continued with, “I’ll bite. Explain away, killer. Let us hear what ya mind was thinkin’ when ya brutalised ’Suko like that.”

“…”

Fenna returned Viper’s glare with quiet disdain, watching as she made a fool of herself chasing after Jack’s mystery jar. Big words for someone who nearly got herself killed without a loaded gun in her purse. It was tempting to clam up just to deny her the satisfaction… but she owed the rest of them an explanation.

She took a deep breath and leaned against the railing.

“…I lied about the gun, but R.N.A. was wrong about the bullet. I didn’t steal it or hide an extra. Saw a sparkle in the ocean… and dere it was.”

“Thought it was a sign. A stroke a luck fer once in my damn life. Shoulda known better.”

She laughed sharply, one syllable, and huffed on the cigarette.

“So I kept ’em. Didn’t wanna use ’em. But the longer we were on dat island, the more it felt like we’d never leave… Even if we got outta dis one, dere’s the next car and the next car, on and on forever while I don’t even know if my son is still alive… He’s all I gaht left, y’see.”

“Maybe Jack could stay here eight years. I couldn’t. So dat night, I thought I’d… just go look. See who’s dere, watchin’ a tape. Maybe I’d get lucky.”

Another bitter grin, though this one faded into despair much more quickly.

“…It was Atsuko. And when I gaht sucked inta her tape, I saw… fire. A body on fire. The woman wid a gas can and naht a hint a remorse in her eyes. And in a panic, I thought… she’ll kill someone if I don’t kill ’er first.”

She swallowed.

“So I killed ’er first. Threw the gun away. Realized what I’d done, and tried ta muss up my footprints. Didn’t… think about the space heater ’til I was gone. D-dat wasn’t…”

Fenna’s words dried up in her throat as she remembered the fury in Atsuko’s eyes. She’d meant for it to be a clean, quick death… right? But her hands had been shaky. Or had she wanted her to suffer? That moment of total power over another’s life… Even if it hadn’t been Atsuko, could she have rationalized it to herself?

“See? Dat’s how easy it can be. So don’t think yous’ll get lucky… or dat yer better than me. Be careful. Dere’s gatta be some other way…”

The words felt empty even as they came out of her mouth. She cared about them, of course, but how could she say that when she’d killed in cold blood? Who would listen? How many more deaths would it take?

Fenna sighed, crumpled the cigarette in her hand, and turned meekly to Haruka.

Haruka Yukimura "I don’t know if you would appreciate prayers, but I offer mine, if you like… I don’t know what else to do. I’m sorry, Fenna…”

“I’ll take a prayer fer Beau… But naht fer me. Gaht a pretty good idea where I’m endin’ up either way.”

Melvin Greene

You know what? Viper and Jack don’t exist for the next half an hour or however much longer they’re gonna be stuck here until the part that everyone really should be dreading a lot more. If there is one thing in his goddamn life that Melvin thinks he’s any good at, it’s giving up, and those two are currently even loster causes than usual. Mhm. Haruka gets the closest thing he’s currently capable of mustering to a sympathetic look. Sorry you getting punched in the mouth wasn’t enough to make literally anyone including the person who did it reconsider all the violence. Definitely up there with Arty in terms of people who deserved this the least. A few hours ago he might still have been willing to say that none of them, maybe not even Jack, had done anything bad enough to warrant this special kind of hell. He’ll probably be right back to thinking that a few hours from now.

Right now, though? Forget it. Right now, the only people who didn’t deserve to put up with this were those two and Fenna. He wasn’t going to overlook the murder thing, because wow yeah that IS pretty messed up, but she was about to die and all the other petty nonsense everyone was preferentially squabbling about was just so nothing next to… two… three? Did they ever figure out if Comedy was also a human person or a denizen who was just really physically close to one? Two and a half? Call it two and a half. They’re not alive to either protest or affirm either way. God. Never thought that was gonna be something to worry about, how human a murder victim was. Yeesh. This couldn’t possibly get any further from being like Judge Judy.

Where was he again?

Right. Everyone in this room including him sucks, except for like three people, and one of them was A Literal Killer who was still better behaved than most of them. Sure, everyone else could still be upset, Fenna did kill someone, on purpose, but… how could any of them act like they didn’t feel even a little bad for her? Like she wasn’t right here, living through probably her last moments while they were preoccupied with some stupid petty bullshit? At least Jack had the excuse of having been here for so long he didn’t care anymore! Looks like he’s finally calming down at least, wait no nevermind he’s still ignoring that guy, right, he forgot. Fenna’s explanation is just… uncomfortable and sad. It sucks. Everything sucks.

Fenna Van Daalen Thought it was a sign. A stroke a luck fer once in my damn life. Shoulda known better.

“If any of us knew any goddamn better, we wouldn’t be here.” That didn’t come across as sympathetically as it maybe could have, but the spirit of the intention is there. “I bet most of us jackasses woulda done the same getting a letter like that, I don’t care what any of them say.” He can’t honestly say for sure if he’d have succeeded or even gone through with trying, but if he had any reason to think Lizzie might die, well. She had a future ahead of her that he sure didn’t. If it had to be one of them…

Fenna Van Daalen I’ll take a prayer fer Beau… But naht fer me. Gaht a pretty good idea where I’m endin’ up either way.

“So don’t say shit like that. You’re still a hell of a lot better than a lotta people here, and I’m not just saying that ‘cause I like you better. Killing Atsuko was real fucked up, but. I dunno. Wasn’t even that bad of a reason why. Shit’s confusing and stupid and you wouldn’t have done it if you didn’t think you had to.” Turns out? All these people with capital P problems on Murdercat’s Nightmare Express might not make the best choices sometimes. Bunch of hypocrites.

Ughhhh why is he so bad at this. Gotta make a fool of himself one more time before she dies, he guesses. “People are gonna miss you, Fenna. I’m gonna miss you, it was… nice, meeting you and all. Wish the sir… hell’s the word.” circumstances, buddy, “Eh, fuck it. Wish it was anywhere but this stupid train. I’m probably not gonna be much use looking for your son–” unless he has somehow made it to a particular region of Iowa, gas is expensive and he definitely can’t afford to travel, “– but there’s gotta be something I can do for ya. So. Whatever it is. Let me know.”

He figures it’s probably not much, especially given who it’s coming from. Never been any good at comforting people, nevermind friends.

Vinzent Mayer

(Suicide ment)

You know what Vinzent’s really sick of now? Or rather, who he’s sick of?

Viper and Jack.

Jack isn’t a surprise, but Viper… She keeps playing with Vinzent’s friendship like it didn’t matter to her. She keeps playing with everyone’s feelings. By caring about Jack. Why does this asshole deserves more of her attention than, say, Abel?

Honestly? Screw these two. Viper’s answer about Vinzent’s tape still lingered in his mind, whenever he liked it or not. And this… Just served to confirm what he thought: she can’t be trusted, neither as a friend or just as a conversation partner.

He’s so goddamn sick of these two right now.

Now… Vinzent does not like himself for what he had said previously and he especially would not consider himself above Fenna in regard to the murder. It could have been him. Had the words affected him differently. Had it been just one change…

He would probably have lost it. It’s… A miracle he’s still here, after living through his pre-suicide attempt memory, after talking to Abel…

…

If he can talk to Abel again. He… He’s going to try. But not now. Not that soon. He needs time.

Back to Fenna.

What is there to say? Sorry? Something about finding her son when it’s not even guaranteed Vinzent will live? He doesn’t know. He does feel sorry for her to have felt trapped in this train. It’s suffocating, that is true. He took every words she said in his mind. To think.

…

Vinzent’s still wanting to get it done with. Not to say he wants to move on. No… It’s more that it keeps eating him, and he has thoughts on his mind… To make it up to people he hurt.

… Perhaps Abel was indeed the first person.

Apologies. Apologies were what Vinzent needed to do. He doesn’t think it’ll go back like before but… The more he simmers on this… The more he’s sure it’s too early to give up. But not right now. Because first, he needs to find the right words to express his honest thoughts.

And maybe… Writing it out would help.

Ah…

Damn it, why does he always think back to Abel when Fenna is about to die?

…

Perhaps his guilt has been greater than he thought. Perhaps because unlike Fenna, Abel is going to live. Perhaps because there’s still time for Abel.

Okay, can Vinzent fucking move on for a moment? What more can he say to Fenna… Just something, anything.

“I am sorry you felt you had no options. I wish I could do something… But I know it’s too late. Regardless, I don’t think you’re a monster, Fenna. I think if it wasn’t you… It could have been one of us and it’s not better. So no, we’re indeed not above you.”

Despite everything, Vinzent didn’t dare to look at Fenna. Maybe because Abel was nearby. But there was a clear look of guilt on Vinzent’s face. Regrets.

And anger. At himself. For stepping this low.

If he wasn’t unsure, if he wasn’t hesitant… He would have given a hug to Fenna. Some sort of comfort. He’s really sorry that she had to go through this.

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