voidtreckernet | Day Twenty One: Engine Room to All Carriages

That's true. And I don't want to waste our last question. This is a special chance.

[ Gen tilted his head. ]

Maybe just asking what would let us ask more questions? I don't mean to make a cop-out, but if there's a way we can get another round ...

Every piece of media that has this suggests that won't work.

[ He considers Gen's meaning though. ]

We do want to learn more. I'm not that interested in conversing with our kidnapper though.

Maybe we can ask how we can learn more instead, because if we could find a way to study these things then we can cut out the middle man.

Neither am I, to be honest. But ...

Ah! That's a brilliant idea. You're a genius, Senku-chan!

[ Despite everything, he gave him a brilliant smile, before raising his voice. ]

Last but not least, our train-shaped friend - how can we learn more about the void and voidcraft like you?

There are some useful books in the library. Your fellow passengers have found success purchasing informative literature from the central database.

Thank you for your questions, passenger Gen Asagiri.

[ Senku snorts at this. The library, for whatever that is worth, and the database that wouldn't let him have a manual on the train. That's annoying.

Aside from that, somewhat useless answer, the others...there was a lot to mull over.

He put his back to the wall and slid down. Time was passing. Time was passing there but not where they were. The time on the train was faked for their comfort. They were missing twice as many hours than he thought. He didn't like it. ]

[ Very, very annoying. Basically like they were being taunted. Gen let out a huge breath - and then saw Senku sliding down the wall. ]

[ He sat down next to him, a line of warmth against his side, hands squeezing a little in his lap for a moment. Time was passing. Senku could be - his chest squeezed again. ]

[ He took another breath. His voice was quiet: ]

Senku-chan?

[ He'll press into his side slightly and quietly mull over his thoughts, even though Gen addressed him. He did hold up one finger, just a silent request to give him a moment to process.

He'd likely seen this before.

He exhaled suddenly and glanced at him. ]

I got shot?

[ Yes, Gen, that was part of his takeaway and hopefully might diffuse some of the tension. ]

[ It's easy to let him have that moment, because he needed a moment, after all. ]

[ The question, at last, caused his breath to hitch. But - ]

[ But. If everything the train said was true - they couldn't be from the same timeline. It didn't make sense. They'd remember Senku being gone for this long, if nothing else. Or, if time somehow progressed infinitesimally in their own world ... that didn't seem to be what the train was saying ... Senku would've remembered. And told him what he'd seen. ]

[ He can't change Senku's future, because this wasn't the Senku from his timeline. ]

[ (It didn't change how he felt about - basically any version of Senku.) ]

... Yeah.

I didn't see it. I was doing reconnaissance in the enemy camp when - they had guns. They had a sniper. He was smug, he told me you were dead.

[ He spoke quietly, but saying it aloud - Gen hunched over his knees. Senku could be dead and he abandoned him. ]

[ He was quiet a moment, tilting his head back to look off into the distance.

He brought his hand up and settled it on Gen's head, warm and solid after a moment. ]

I'm not dead. [ He sounds incredibly certain about that. ]

I'm annoyingly hard to kill. [ A small smile pulls at his lips. ]

So. I'm not dead. Don't kill me before my time. I'm sure I didn't send you into the lion's den with nothing, no way to communicate, or at least get communication. They'd have told you.

[ Despite his profession, Gen wasn't prone to 'magical thinking', or really optimism for that matter. ]

[ But he still wanted to believe Senku. He really did. ]

... I've got that earring you fashioned, of course. I certainly want to believe you're alive, Senku-chan. You know how I am.

[ He leaned into that touch, the solid warmth grounding him. His smile was sad, more bemused. ]

You know, for the first time, I hope that what I was doing was a bit of a wild goose chase. I'm worried, just a little bit sometimes, that I'm not contributing much. Which is silly! But this time if that's true, nobody's in too much danger with me gone.

I don't believe for a minute you're not contributing. But I'm equally sure that our faith in Ukyo, Ryusui and Chrome is not misplaced. They can handle things. I know it.

[ He takes a shuddering breath. ]

All of this was bullshit. It's a lot to process I just...there's way more going on here than I thought.

Can I put my arm around you, Senku-chan?

[ Considering how unsettled both of them were feeling, he was definitely asking first, and not assuming. ]

[ He rubbed his other hand on his face. ]

Why give us a chance to ask questions now, I wonder? Especially when it's still very unwilling to give much information. ... Unwilling or unable?

[ He flinches instinctively and shakes his head. Senku looks like he's debating but maybe...

He turns towards Gen and curls his fingers in the middle of his shirt, resting his hand on his chest. There. That's some contact at least. ]

I don't know. We just have so much to think about. And we need to hear what other people found out.

[ That’s why he asked first, after all. The hand curled on his shirt was enough, anyway, to help ground him physically. Gen took a deep breath, calming himself. ]

Yeah.

We need to find out if the answers ... conflict, contradict, or if they’re consistent.

If they’re consistent ...

I'm predicting they will be, but I don't know what people asked. It's a lot, it really is and I just...

[ He breathes. ]

It'll be fine, no matter what. We can deal with this Mentalist. We'll come up with something.

It's a lot.

[ He took a deep breath in and out as Senku did. ]

[ In the end? Gen isn't an optimist in the same way that Senku was. He didn't believe that people tended toward positive progress. He didn't trust people who'd harmed them when they said they were on their side. It took a lot more for him to get to that point. ]

[ But he trusted Senku. He had to trust Senku. In some ways, it was how he coped with living in the Stone World they'd woken up in, once he tossed his chips in with the mad scientist. ]

... You always come up with something, my darling. And it always ends up working.

I believe in you.

Day Twenty One: Engine Room to All Carriages

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