"Thank you!" she added hastily, leaving the conductor in her wake with nothing more.

She was borderline racing in the direction he'd indicated, a train more or less unremarkable already well-prepared to depart. The rumble of the engine, even from afar, was enough to leave her heart rumbling along with it. Whatever had possessed its conductor to wait, she was eternally grateful for. Four people had come to the same conclusion long before she had, their anxiety almost radiant. With Viola in hand, she struggled to move ever faster, her boots pounding desperately against the wooden planks below.

"It's this one, come on!" Harper called, waving her over with urgency.

"I thought you said the tickets were non-stop!" Josiah cried.

"They were non-stop!" Viola cried back, panting yet again with the effort of keeping up.

"Oh my Goood, get on the traaain," Renato groaned, quite literally pushing at Josiah's back as he climbed the steps. Madrigal, too, had already begun her ascent, motioning desperately for the girls to follow suit.

"Hurry!" she yelled.

The urgency wasn't overwhelmingly necessary, in the end. They boarded with no true issues, climbing the steps nearly two at a time in the process. Even with Octavia's stamina well-intact, Viola fared far worse, doubling over and gasping the moment she was safely inside. Octavia winced at the sight. That was largely her fault.

"I'm sorry!" she said.

Viola didn't have the oxygen to respond. Instead, all Octavia earned was a thumbs-up. At the very least, it was enough for her to breathe a sigh of relief.

"What the hell happened?" Josiah demanded.

"I…promise you," Viola panted, hunting for air, "they were…non-stop."

"Where even are we?" Madrigal murmured nervously, wringing her hands together.

"Outside of a town I've never heard of. Southern…Stacata, I think," Octavia tried. "We're close to Solenford, apparently."

"We should be there by morning," Viola added, finally blessed with the return of sweet oxygen.

Her words were punctuated by the timely squeal of wheels against the metal rails below. Ultimately, the departure had afforded them roughly an extra three full minutes. There was no whistle, and the blaring noise Octavia had anticipated was eerily absent as the train began to steadily roll forward. The floor beneath her jostled, and she nearly lost her balance beneath the sudden movements. She caught Viola, who did lose hers.

The interior was completely silent, a horrific peace offset by ambient lighting. She could still see up the aisles without issue, for the most part. Inside, it was no different than every train she'd been on in the past. There were spaces both tight and open, crafted for rest and mingling in tandem. Contrary to the conductor's words, there didn't seem to be much need for maintenance--visibly, anyway. Octavia knew little of the mechanical aspects. Really, the quiet was the part that bothered her.

The subtle rumble deep below and the backdrop of clacking along metal tracks were her only two sources of salvation. At the very least, it was warm, touched by the grace of the fleeing sun in their wake. Each and every window was devoid of curtains, and that was mildly uncomfortable. There was no escaping the rising moon, battling unnatural lighting with milky glows that flooded the train in excess.

Octavia really, really didn't enjoy the implication that they were wholly alone. The concept of being isolated on a train so far from home--Viola's, mostly--was highly unsettling.

"We're on our way again, I guess," Harper muttered.

Octavia wasn't the only one hesitant to move from the entryway, several tentative footsteps just barely poking into the aisle at her side. "Is…anyone else here?" Josiah asked quietly.

She didn't have a solid answer. "I…don't think so. The conductor I talked to, he said that this train wasn't supposed to have many passengers. Any, he made it sound like."

"But we got tickets to be here," Madrigal said.

Octavia nodded. "I know. I don't entirely get it, either."

"Is there any chance we boarded the wrong train out of Coda?" Josiah tried.

"Definitely not," Viola answered. "It was the only train going to Solenford. There's no way."

Josiah didn't respond. For a moment, only the low rumble of the train marching on into the blooming night filled the gap. Alone as they were, collectively, it was all the more uncomfortable.

"You said morning, right? Should we just…sleep it off and figure it out when we get there?" Renato offered.

"I dunno, this is really creepy," Harper murmured with a shudder. "I don't feel particularly good about going to sleep here."

"It's just a train."

"Yeah, but…this is so weird. I don't think I can sleep, sorry."

"To be fair, I've been sleeping half the time, too," Josiah added, raising his hand. "I'll stay up with you."

"Honestly, I have a feeling none of us are gonna be able to get any sleep," Octavia admitted. "I'm…rested enough. I guess if I need to take a nap, I can."

"We can sleep in shifts," Harper suggested.

"You suck at that."

"What for?" Viola asked, ignoring Octavia's quip entirely.

He winced. "I…I don't know. Just a thought, if anyone wants to try to get some rest."

Renato shrugged. "Screw it. Let's just all stay up together. If I pass out, just wake me up when we get there, and don't let anything stupid happen to me while I'm sleeping. Easy."

Relative to whatever they'd be dealing with at SIAR, unknown as it still was, the idea of tackling it with little rest was concerning. Ideally, adrenaline would fill the void. It was the best excuse Octavia could come up with.

Adrenaline on a train was helpful, too, somewhat. It was enough to keep them going for a while. There came a point where they actually attempted to sleep in shifts, and yet fatigue was overwhelming. Satisfied with sleeping or not, the silence was unbearable. Ultimately, not one was comfortable enough to confine themselves to a formal room, and mattresses were forsaken in favor of plush booths or carpeted aisles. They were as much of a clump as their instruments, two clusters of rest drowning in the open moonlight.

Harper and Josiah really did forgo sleeping altogether, conversing in low tones and whispers well into the night. The presence of sound at all, hushed or otherwise, was enough to help Octavia sleep instead. Her one curse came in the form of the relentless moon, its abundant glow unhindered by naked windows lining the length of the car. Not one curtain so much as attempted to spare her from abundant luminosity, no matter how soft. Finding shade in the night was borderline impossible, and she was forced to crawl beneath a table at least once. She'd hit her head in the process of sitting up. That part wasn't fun.

There came a point where sleeping was either enough altogether or simply useless, for how she was left tossing and turning on uncomfortable surfaces. It took effort to rise slowly, contributing as little noise as possible to the strangling silence. Stepping over stray limbs sprawling out into the aisle from Maestros far more comfortable was a challenge, much the same. She stretched.

"What's up?" Josiah whispered.

"Just…can't sleep. Gonna walk for a bit," she whispered back.

"Take Stradivaria," Harper reminded softly.

"Take Harper," Josiah said.

"What?" he murmured.

"Don't just let her walk around by herself. Go with her."

He didn't argue. From his seat on the windowsill, of all places, Harper dropped to the floor with the tiniest of grunts. In tandem with Octavia's motions towards her partner, he made for Royal Orleans' case.

"Are we going anywhere in particular?" he asked.

Octavia shook her head. "Not really. Walking when I can't sleep makes me feel better. Just…maybe towards the front, I guess."

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He nodded. "That's fine. Let's try not to stay too long. The sooner this is over with, the better."

She didn't disagree. Stradivaria was cool in her hands, and the sensation wasn't unpleasant as she held the instrument close. Her steps were equally as cautious as her own breaths, aimless as they were with Harper trailing close behind. She wasn't fond of the slight difficulty that came with walking, the most fleeting tug of an uphill slope not lost on her ankles. She dismissed it as the structure of the aisle, initially. Still, it persisted, even as she grew ever more distant from the safety of the others.

"Are we going upwards, or something?" Octavia murmured aloud.

"Look outside."

It wasn't a particularly hard suggestion to oblige, given how every last color of the natural world was spilling into the car already. Any window would suffice, unobscured as they were, and it only took one to confirm her suspicions. Their last non-stop trip to Solenford had left them traversing flat ground alone, miniscule bumps and hills a far cry from true elevation along their path. Here, instead, she was at last granted the privilege to absorb the full majesty that was the mountains of Solenford.

With each passing second, their vessel was climbing ever higher up the rugged terrain. The vehicle was sturdy, the tracks were well-maintained, and Octavia feared little for their actual safety. It was nothing if not breathtaking, for how the spearing peaks in the distance clung to shadows beneath the generous moon. In lovelier circumstances, snow-capped alternatives would've been of interest. She lamented the summer sun on the opposite side of day.

"Pretty," Octavia whispered.

"Hope you're not afraid of heights," Harper teased gently.

Octavia shook her head with a smile, her footsteps delicate as she crossed the threshold into another car. Even without anyone save for her companions aboard to disturb, the weight of silence was its own occupant. "I like heights, actually."

"Are you…worried about what we're gonna find when we get there?"

The smile she'd only just donned slipped somewhat. He was close enough for his breath to brush against her neck as he spoke--a reminder of his safe proximity that she didn't dislike. "Not much point in me lying to you, is there?"

Harper chuckled. "You know it. It's okay if you are. I think we're all nervous."

"I'm sorry for dragging you down with me."

His hand on her shoulder made Octavia jump slightly. The atmosphere was sneaking beneath her skin more than she was willing to admit. "There's not a single one of us who feels that way. We're here because we want to be. Trust me, I'm dying to know who's been messing with my family, too."

Octavia's every step forward was foreign, and his words were the only familiar thing she could count on as she moved up the length of the train itself. Aimless wandering was not the calming experience she hoped it would be. Her path narrowed bit by bit, and the storage cabinets hanging high overhead jutted into the aisle too sharply for comfort. Whatever was keeping her moving forward was more absentminded than voluntary, at this point. Harper had the clarity of mind to call her out on it as she neared the front cabin.

"We're definitely going too far," he whispered. "I think that's enough."

Octavia had never actually been this close to the front before. They had a singular additional occupant along for the ride, severed only by a sliding door and the responsibilities of the moonlit job. It was somehow more unsettling than it was comforting. She had no idea what it was that possessed her to raise her hand, let alone to try knocking. Harper didn't give her the chance.

"Let him do his job," he scolded softly, tugging at her extended wrist.

"No one else is even here. You don't want to know why the train is empty or anything?"

Harper shook his head. "Not really, no. Like I said, this whole situation is seriously creeping me out. I don't want to make it more uncomfortable than it already is."

She sighed. Where she would typically have teased and pushed, she had little energy to press his boundaries. Curiosity be damned, Octavia withdrew her hand, dejected fingers returning to the cold mahogany of a violin instead. "Fine."

Harper didn't pull at her wrist further, loosening his delicate grip somewhat. He tilted his head in the direction from whence they'd come, a silent plea for return. Octavia wasn't immune to casting her eyes towards the closed door regardless.

Curiosity was still preferable to languishing in the dark--or lack thereof, if the unforgiving moon had a say. For how many times she'd found herself bound to the whims of a speeding train, she'd never had the chance to actually explore one at length. It was the closest she'd come to the opportunity, even in the midst of an unsettling situation.

The soft, muffled screeching behind the door surely spoke to scraping metal beneath skilled hands, and watching them work would've been of interest. Her knowledge was limited to books alone, and confirming the abundance of levers and whistles would've been enjoyable. Counting moving parts would've been fun. Octavia had never so much as considered that charcoal, if that was what it was, could burn violet.

She blinked. She rubbed her eyes. She checked twice over, reinspecting the tiny gap between the sliding door and the carpeted aisle below her feet. She really, really wasn't sure if it was supposed to be violet.

"Octavia, come on," Harper reminded, tapping her shoulder.

"Wait a second," Octavia whispered.

"What?"

She leaned closer to the floor, not daring to bend down. Squinting, she tilted her head, watching what she could with morbid curiosity. Tiny wisps of indigo smoke had begun drifting tenderly outwards from beyond the crevice. They didn't climb so much as they did tickle the utmost base of the door, the most miniscule gap between the floor and the entryway clogging with translucent fog. This time, she did knock.

"Octavia!" Harper hissed, grabbing her wrist far too late.

Octavia met his eyes in silence, drawing a line downwards with her own gaze. When he followed along, he, too, squinted in turn, releasing her just as fast. It hardly mattered. There was no answer from the other side. The screeching, stifled as it was, only grew louder. She could've sworn the train was rocking more severely, her balance somewhat unsteady.

"Are we stopping again?" she heard Harper ask aloud.

Octavia knocked again. Nothing. She tried harder, putting more effort into her wrist. "Hello?"

Still, nothing. Her fingers crawled over the handle, poised to pull. A quick glance at Harper earned her only a wince, a far cry from the contagious confidence she'd hoped for. It took conscious willpower for her to try. There was a startling amount of resistance, and she was nearly forced to use both hands to pry the door beyond the slightest crack. With a hefty grunt, she made it roughly one-fourth of the way there, straining as she peered into the cabin.

It was pitch-black. Rather, it was pitch-violet--thick, boiling, bubbling, and as noxious as could be. It was excessive in every conceivable way. Even from a distance, its aura was overpowering. She could hardly breathe. For a moment, she didn't.

"Shut it!" Harper screamed.

Octavia didn't get the chance. The crevice she'd already made was enough. In seconds, there was no door. It wasn't slow. It didn't hesitate. It was the fastest-moving Dissonance she'd seen in weeks. It surged, a violet wave that crashed in every direction with a wailing shriek that made her ears ring fiercely. There may as well not have been a front cabin at all. In its place, she found only a cage for the most toxic substance ever to curse her life. [♪]

She scrambled for distance, Harper doing much the same as they sprinted in tandem. She didn't dare turn around, Stradivaria jostling painfully against her neck as she struggled to raise the instrument. It was by sheer luck that the only person faster than Octavia was the one to bar her path in the slightest. His own rapid footsteps blessed her with the ample room she needed to escape the flood pressing at her back. She didn't need to see it. She could feel it. She could hear it. No amount of playing alone was going to counter it, let alone in one shot.

"Hit it together with me!" she demanded breathlessly.

"Bend down!" Harper shouted back.

She obliged to the absolute best of her ability, nearly falling flat on her face as she skidded to a stop. She'd never played Stradivaria while crouching before, although propping herself up on one knee turned out to be somewhat supportive. She quickly understood Harper's point, Royal Orleans rising above her head as a blast of heated air besieged her scalp.

They'd played together before. She knew him. She knew his notes, and her own light tangled flawlessly with his flames. Of that, she had no concern. Octavia gritted her teeth, moving shaking fingers in time with pure adrenaline threatening to burst from her bloodstream. With it came her radiance, echoed by his own flavor of the same.

Octavia would, if nothing else, never get over how lovely their legacies worked together in unison. His spiraling fire and her blasting rays overlapped in brilliant bursts. Scarlets, golds, and every flash of incinerating supernovas imaginable exploded against false darkness. A star was born between them, erupting in the smallest of suns that raged beneath moonbeams in turn.

The contrast of the dazzling flare against the black hole of loathsome violet was enough to make her squint. Her eyes were assaulted by the sharp contrast in brightness between the two, and fighting to keep them open was a struggle. Staying balanced so low was its own challenge. Maintaining her footing on top of her current predicament was just as difficult as keeping up with Harper. Even so, Octavia didn't back down, her speedy movements of the bow bursting with as much burning brilliance as she could muster.

Somehow, it wasn't enough.

The desperate counterattack was enough to act at least as a deterrent, sending the churning sea of Dissonance streaming outwards and around the shining star of the two Maestros. The grotesque ocean parted, and still they did little but forge through crashing waves. Violent clouds were practically screaming as they circumvented the fiery brilliance on either side. Even forty-five full seconds later, it was still coming, speeding around them just as quickly. It was all Octavia could do to hold fast, putting the burn of her muscles consciously to the wayside as she doubled down against every string.

The onslaught didn't cease so much as it did stem, ebbing to a steady stream that instead surged threateningly towards their ankles. The most venomous tide lapped at the carpeted aisle, and she feared coming within inches of it as it crawled towards her boots. Panting, she rose to her feet, staggering backwards until she nearly collided with Harper.

"Was that…all in the cabin?" he gasped, his search for oxygen far more desperate.

"I-I don't know! It's still coming!" Octavia cried.

Frantic scanning with frenzied eyes unveiled an assault not purely frontal. On several sides, cracks between crunched cabinets and crevices beyond low seating had begun to ooze with much of the same agony, a violet haze choking the air as it steadily ascended. In place of a car trapped in raging flames, it was pain incarnate that bore all the smoke she could dread.

With every terrified step in reverse, it thickened. Just the same, with every panicked breath, it grew ever more obscure until she could no longer make out the distant cabin at all. Pure, unrestrained Dissonance clogged her path in full. It was one of the most horrific sights Octavia had ever laid eyes upon.

"Why is there…so much?" Harper murmured with terror, his hands shaking.

Octavia hardly had the words to respond. Even now, she couldn't stop staring. Their resistance had done little in the way of lasting damage, only instead wreaking havoc on their surroundings. The violence they'd inflicted on the train car itself was unfortunate, at least three of the storage cabinets that had hung aloft succumbing to her supernova.

Mostly emptied, only scattered contents had survived their inescapable inferno. Stray clothes slipped from a suitcase cursed by broken clasps. At least one backpack had remained intact, scorched and shredded as it crashed to the carpet. A tiny, singed book, tinted in the softest rosy blush, bared its flower proudly to the filthy floor alone. It was pitiful.

Octavia's blood froze over, adrenaline challenged by the chill of dread in every conceivable pore.

"Octavia?" Harper asked anxiously, eyes full of worry as he scanned her face in turn.

Her voice was nearly inaudible. Her breath slipped from her throat as she refused to tear her eyes from the gentle pink scraping the carpet.

"This is the train that took us out of Velrose."

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