AU - Canon Divergence that picks up immediately after the Art Gallery Car!
Note: This story will alternate between Ryan and Min-Gi's points of view. This will start off with Ryan's point of view!
Ryan felt an immediate rush of relief when he was Min-Gi come sprawling through the door. Min grasped his thighs to catch his breath. When Ryan got closer, Min's sobs became more obvious to him. He was crying.
"You...left me," he choked. Ryan was about to reach out to him but Min-Gi pushed past him. "You left me there to die!"
"Min, I didn't-" Ryan reached out once more, only for Min to angrily shove his hand off his shoulder forcefully. He moved away once more, leaning over the rail to collect himself.
Ryan glanced at the hand Min pushed away, a flash of hurt and anger coming over him.
"Hey, if I wanted to leave, I would have," he snapped. Min-Gi's head jerked up, his eyes narrowing accusingly at Ryan.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked.
Ryan's anger subsided, immediately replaced with crushing guilt.
"I... never mind," he mumbled. One day he'd be able to admit what a garbage friend he was. Today, especially right now, would not be that day. Thankfully, Min seemed to let it go.
"Hey, sooo, I know that last car was, like, all creepy and gross, but you know what's not?" Kez pipped up. "Casa de Kez!"
Min sighed and reached for the next car door. The car trembled, making him jerk his hand away and back up on the bridge. The bridge connecting the two cars split up, the one the two young men were on starting to rise.
"What's happening?" Ryan gasped, frozen in place with shock. "Why is the car moving?"
The trio was now too high up from the ground to safely jump without breaking their legs. Ryan stood there terrified as they were moved further and further away from the next car. After a while, the car lowed itself between two different cars. Ryan turned to look at Min-Gi, who was sitting on the ground with his face covered.
"We're...alive?" he asked, looking around.
"I... think so? Where are we now?"
"Oh fuck," Kez cursed. "I don't know how far back this car took us. "We've gotta be soooooo many more cars away! Ugh, we were so close!"
"We were so close, I should've jumped when I had the chance-"
"Ryan, it's ok!" she insisted, her smile not reaching her face. "A little setback never hurt us, huh? We'll figure this out. Come on."
The tiny bell led the two into the next car.
Instantly, Ryan found himself floating into the air. He scrambled frantically to get a proper footing in this seemingly expansive space. Identical glowing car doors floated around him.
"Soooo... seems like we have to find the right door and get out of here as soon as possible," Ryan said, making his way toward a door. Opening it, he sees himself in the middle of a tense fight in the van with his first ex-girlfriend. He slammed the door, panicked. Wayyy too soon to reopen those wounds.
He opened another door. Another fight with an ex, this time over cheating. His ex-boyfriend blamed him for pushing him away. Yeah right. He saw himself storming out of the school's music room in tears. He avoided that boy like the plague after that. He sighed and closed that door as well.
"Find anything?" Kez called out.
"Aside from reminders of my horrible dating history, not really," he sighed.
"I think I found it! The exit!" Min called out. Kez and Ryan made their way over there. The door opened to the next train car. Without hesitation, they rushed through.
Ryan opened his eyes and found himself on top of the train car. He sharply turned at the sound of someone crying for help. There was a purple gorilla clinging to the edge of the train.
In a knee-jerk reaction, Ryan rushed over and grabbed one of her hands. Min-Gi grabbed the other. Together, they managed to pull her back to safety. The movement made Ryan stumble and land flat on his ass, breathing heavily.
Ryan looked up and saw a pale blond man staring at him and Min.
"Please don't hurt us!" Min-Gi yelled as he and Ryan held their hands up in fear.
"Your numbers... they're in sync!" he exclaimed. "Come with me, there's someone who needs to see this."
They silently followed, the gorilla trailing close behind.
"Well what do we have here?" the man asks suddenly, peering over the edge of the train. The cars were connected via a bridge. He shrugged and led the group into the next car.
"I'm sure Simon and Tuba will be coming back soon, Hazel," a young woman said, holding onto a small child. She looked up and gasped happily upon seeing who Ryan assumed to be Simon. Hazel leaped out of the woman's arms and rushed past the group to cling to the purple gorilla.
"Tuba! You're ok!" she sighed as the gorilla scooped her up for a hug.
"Those two saved my life," Tuba said, nodding her head towards Ryan and Min-Gi.
As expected Min-Gi became bashful and tugged nervously at his collar.
"W-well it was nothing, really-" Hazel ran over and hugged his leg.
"Thanks for saving Tuba..." she said softly. Min Gi gave her a smile just as soft, ruffling her hair. Ryan loved his smile. He wondered if he'd ever get Min-Gi to smile at him like that again.
"You're welcome..."
Hazel detached herself from Min-Gi and ran up to latch onto Ryan's leg. He laughed, picking her up and tickling her chin. Hazel squealed with laughter. Ryan then became aware of Min-Gi watching him and Hazel. Min immediately cut his eyes as soon as Ryan looked up. The mood killed, he placed Hazel back on the ground, where she ran back to the comfort of Tuba's arms. He jammed his hands in his pockets, ignoring the whirring sound of his number changing.
He couldn't ignore Min-Gi mumbling, "They went up..." under his breath. He grimaced.
"Soooo, um, I'm Ryan, and this is Min-Gi and Kez," Ryan said.
"I'm Grace, this is Simon, and this is Hazel and Tuba," Grace said. "You guys are like, super lucky to have run into us. Let me see your numbers!"
She gently reached out and took Ryan's hand, examining it. Then she took Min-Gi's hand.
"H-hey!"
"You guys... have the same number?" She gasped.
"Yeah we...got on the train together and our numbers more or less go up and down in sync for the most part..."
"For the most part?" Min Gi asked. "What are you talking about, they've always gone up or down together."
Ryan flushed, feeling Min-Gi stare him down for an answer.
"I mean nothing..."
"Anyways," Simon said. "We've already wasted enough time here. We're so close to the Apex. Then we can deal with you two accordingly. Grace, let's move."
Grace nodded, leading the way. Hazel rested on top of Tuba's shoulders as she moved.
"Psst! Blink twice if you're being held captive," Kez whispered to Tuba. The gorilla gave her a confused look and shook her head.
"I had my doubts about Simon, but hopefully we'll end up seeing eye to eye. Plus, Hazel seems to like Grace a lot," Tuba said quietly.
Ryan looked up ahead. Grace and Simon were chattering excitedly about something, but they were too far away for him to hear exactly what was being said.
"You think those guys can be trusted?" Min Gi asked Kez.
"I'm gonna be honest, I've never been to this part of the train. Our best bet is sticking with these guys for now," she said. "Outside of like... my friends, these are one of the only people we've run into that didn't immediately try to kill or eat us."
They followed Grace and Simon through the trian cars. Occasionally, Simon would turn, pointing at Ryan, then go back to whispering with Grace. Ryan lowered his head and tried to focus on literally anything other than Simon, the Apex...or Min.
Eventually, they led the way into a car that looks like an abandoned mall. Suddenly, dozens of kids of all ages swarmed the area. They turned their attention to Tuba and started to scream.
"A null!" they yelled, surrounding Tuba and Hazel.
"I-I don't like these kids, Grace," Hazel whimpered, starting to tear up. She hid her face in Tuba's fur as Tuba tried her best to shrink away from the crowd of rowdy children and keep Hazel safe. Grace pushed through the crowd and commanded the kids to back up.
"It's ok guys! Tuba is not going to hurt anyone!"
"The null has a name?" a kid with an eyepatch asked. "But nulls...aren't people, right?"
"Well, Lucy, some nulls do have names! And Tuba is one of them," she said, trying to maintain the peace.
"I don't know what a null is," Kez said. "But it doesn't sound like a good thing."
The kids turned their attention to the little bell.
"Another null?!"
Kez barely managed to fly out of the kids' grasp, avoiding their makeshift weapons. Ryan looked around for an easy exit
"I uh, appreciate you guys bringing us here but I think it's time we leave now-"
Everywhere he tried to turn, kids blocked his path. Simon chuckled.
"We've got our work cut out for us, I see. Ryan's gonna come with me, and Grace? You deal with the other one," Simon said.
"What about the nulls?" Grace asked.
"What if we left it up to the kids?" he replied, waving a hand dismissively. "If they're still here by the time we get back, we'll figure something else out."
He took Ryan by the arm and somewhat dragged him into an abandoned store. Ryan put his hands up as soon as they are alone.
"Look, we didn't mean to cause any trouble-"
"Did that null tell you you needed to get your numbers down?" Simon demanded, examining Ryan's hand once more.
"If by 'that null' you mean Kez-" he snapped, taking his hand back. "Then yes."
"She's been lying to you, Ryan."
"H-Huh?"
"Let me give you a little apex history lesson," Simon sighed, leaning on the counter. "This train right here? Belongs to us. The nulls lie to people who come on the train to push us out of what's rightfully ours! That's why we gotta keep our numbers as high as possible, so they can never leave!"
Ryan jumped back, knocking over a clothing rack.
"Never leave?!" he gasped. "We can't say here, I'm sorry! I have a gig in New York and Min has to go to uni... we're supposed to be in Powell Lake right now!"
As soon as the words left his mouth he goes awfully quiet.
"You don't seem awfully exicted about that last part," Simon pointed out.
"I am!" He insisted. "I'm gonna continue my solo career and Min's gonna make something good out of his life when he goes to Uni and majors in finance. He'll get to have a nice job, meet someone he falls in love with and... do everything he ever wanted in life. I just wish..."
"Wish what?" Simon gently prodded him.
"I wish he hadn't left me the way he did!" he blurted out. "We had a plan, and he left, so I did it all on my own. Now we're back together but he's mad at me. All I wanted was him by my side through it all."
He clammed up once more, being reminded of how he nearly left Min-Gi behind at the mercy of the Docent. Simon placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Think of it this way," Simon said. "With the Apex, you'll never have to worry about anyone abandoning you again."
Ryan backed out of Simon's grasp, thoroughly creeped out.
"I could never do that to Min! As much as I want Chicken Choice Judy to ride again, I can't keep him here on this train against his will. I owe it to him to help him get back on the right path."
"Who says you have to keep him here against his will?"
"Uh, hello?" Ryan held up his glowing hand. "If my number goes up, so will his."
"Hmm. There might be some way to get you guys out of sync."
"What for?"
"Well I mean, it doesn't seem like you're all too eager to get off the train like your friend is."
"That's not true," he snapped. "All this... it's not normal...we can't stay here."
"Do you really want things to go 'back to normal'? He goes off to college and you do your little rock career alone?"
"I..." He stared at the cracks in the floor tiles.
"I'll let you sleep on it," Simon said, moving past him to open the store's door. Grace walked in with Min-Gi in tow.
"Looks like we ran into you guys just in time for another raid," she said. "We're going to the Candy Club car."
"Raid?" Min Gi exclaimed. "What do you mean by raid?"
"You'll see," she chuckles. "We'll need disguises to get in, though. The club has a very particular dress code. Come with me."
Grace grabbed both Ryan and Min-Gi by each hand and brought them to another store. Ryan spotted Kez trying to evade the mob of kids chasing her and Tuba.
"Kez!" Ryan called out, but Grace turned his attention away from her.
"Don't worry about those two," She insisted, just a hint of doubt in her voice. "Everything will be fine."
She started to rush the two away from the area and into the store.
"They're gonna hurt Kez!" He protested. He got no response from Grace, who twirled and leaped in and out of the clothing aisles. She took a brief look at the two men. Ryan looked at the floor once more. She turned and shoved a pile of clothes into both his and Min-Gi's arms.
"Try these on. If they don't fit I can find some different sizes. There's a bathroom really close to this place," she said, picking out a pretty dress for herself.
Ryan took off as soon as possible. He changed quickly and came out to find no one around. The sound of Kez screaming was coming closer. He turned around and spotted Kez flying at him with a group of kids chasing her.
"Kez-?"
The little bell wasn't looking where she was going and slammed right into Ryan's chest. He fell over, temporarily dazed by the impact. Terrified of being trampled by the mob of children, he squeezed his eyes shut and held Kez close as he braced for impact. it never came.
He carefully opened his eyes. He still had Kez clutched close to his body, dozens of kids surrounding the two. They all backed up when Ryan brought himself up.
"Ryan, thank GOD I ran into you," Kez wheezed. "They kept chasing me around the car and chanting!"
"What were they saying?"
"Uh... 'Wheel the null' or something. What even is a null and what do they mean by wheeling nulls?"
Ryan was about to answer when a kid pointed her plunger at his face.
"Release the null! we will handle it!"
"No, no! You don't need to handle it! Kez isn't a 'null' and you can't wheel her!" He let Kez sit on top of his head. He crossed his arms, staring the kid down. She sighed and lowered the plunger.
"We gotta get Simon or Grace to handle this!"
The crowd started to move, only for Simon and Grace to show up playfully arguing.
"You couldn't have worn anything nice?" Grace teased, pulling at the jacket Simon chose to wear.
"What's the point? It'll get ruined after we're done with the car. You...look nice though."
Grace smirked and did a little twirl in her dress. She and Simon laughed. They trailed off upon spotting Ryan with Kez on top of his head.
"What happened to Tuba?" Grace asked.
"We uh, split up," Kez says guiltily. "I hope she's ok..."
Tuba came around, still being chased by a separate group of kids, Hazel among them.
"Tuba, wait!" The small child cried, pushing past the other kids. She managed to crawl on top of Tuba, wrapping her tiny arms around her neck. "Stay away from Tuba! I... I won't let you guys hurt her!"
Ryan stepped forward.
"Look, you guys gotta leave them alone. Kez is our friend and I won't let you hurt her!"
"Is Kez a person?" Simon asked.
"She's a talking bell. But that doesn't mean you get to treat her or the other denizens badly. Now back off, or we're out of here."
He and Simon stared each other down for what felt like an eternity. Ryan hoped Simon would back down soon, he was starting to swear. Simon blinked, then cleared his throat.
"Fine," he said, his face deadpan. "The nulls can stay."
Murmurs broke out amongst the crowd of children. Nulls in the Apex?
Ryan felt Kez relax her body on top of his head. He himself let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding. Grace made a buzzing sound with her lops, getting everyone's attention.
"Now that this is, um, taken care of, let's get to the next car, everyone!"
Grace led the pack out of the mall car. Ryan and Min Gi followed behind everyone else.
"That was...impressive," he heard Min-Gi say quietly. He turned to look at him, looking for any hint of sarcasm in his face. Did he look...genuine?
"What...really?"
"Yeah... I didn't think you'd pull that off."
Min probably didn't mean anything by it, but it felt incredibly backhanded. Ryan shrugged and continued to follow the Apex into the Candy Club car.
