[Snippet] The Masks We Wear (Honkai: Star Rail): Chapter 7 (Patreon)

Allen woke up with a yawn, his phone buzzing next to him.

If there was one flaw with his space god phone, it was that Aha made it so it can’t go on silent. Just for a tiny little laugh at his expense. It was infinitely small in the grand scheme of annoyances within the universe. However, it had a way of irritating him at just the wrong moments, just never quite so bad as to actually cause him trouble.

Herta: Hey you!

Herta: Answer me.

Herta: You better respond immediately!

CC: I was sleeping.

Herta: Shut up! I just did an inventory of my space station. Did you steal anything else while you were here!? Did you mess with anything? You better confess right now.

CC: ???

CC: I only took those three things.

Herta: A thief is always a thief. Hmph.

Herta: If I find out that you did something else while you were here, you will regret it.

Herta: One of my personal projects is having problems. And they only started after you left. If you confess, your punishment will be significantly less.

CC: Your Simulated Universe?

Herta: I knew it! You did do something! You bastard!

CC: I didn’t do anything.

Herta: My simulated universe isn’t public knowledge yet, so the only way you could have known about it is if you messed with it when you snuck into my space station!

Herta: You better tell me what you did right now or else!

CC: I didn’t do anything; I just happened to know about your simulated universe. I actually think it’s neat, so I wouldn’t mess with it. What’s wrong?

Herta: A likely story. Your stupid Aeon won’t stop messing with things! If you know about it, then you know what I’m doing. They keep interfering with everything specifically at my expense! The only factor that could have had an effect on the simulation of them is you!

CC: Ah…. Okay, I think I get it. Maybe my presence did rile them up. 

Herta: This is your fault!

Herta: I demand you fix this immediately!

CC: Just ask the boss to stop and tell them it was a request from me. 

Herta: !? In what universe do you think that would work!? Aeons don’t just stop doing what they’re doing at the request of people like us. Even Emanators.

Herta: [Has gone offline]

Herta: [Has come online]

Herta: That worked.

Herta: Why did that work?

Herta: You’re playing a joke again. Fools are the worst. What’s your game!?

CC: ???

CC: Don’t just accuse me like that; I didn’t do anything.

Herta: There’s no way an Aeon would listen to a mortal like this. As soon as I said that you were the one who asked, they stopped messing with things.

CC: Do you not get along with your Aeon?

Herta: No! We don’t talk; no one does! People don’t just talk with the Aeon they’re under!

CC: Maybe I’m just Boss’s special boy.

CC: (◡◕⏖◕)ᑐ🝐 ⠁⭒.✩.⭒⠁

Herta: You are infuriating!

Herta: You’re doing this on purpose! If I find out you’re messing with my experiment, you’re going to pay for it. Don’t think I can’t track you down just because you’re some masked fool. 

CC: What color today?

Herta: Die.

Herta: [Has Blocked You]

CC: I actually think your experiment with the simulated universe is interesting. But I think you're approaching the Aeons wrong. You're trying to simulate them as entities when you should be simulating the path first.

CC: An Aeon isn't really a person who happens to control a Path, right? They're constrained by it. They can't meaningfully act outside of it anymore. So if your simulation starts with "Aha" and tries to determine how Aha behaves, you're building the model backwards.

CC: Model Elation. Give it the same constraints that define the path, then see whether something resembling "aha" emerges from those constraints.

CC: If it doesn't, your model of Elation is wrong. If it does, then you have something much more useful than an imitation of an Aeon.

Herta: [Has unblocked you]

Herta: What do you know?

Herta: Aeons, when they ascend, are removed from cause and effect. They no longer have a [past]. The whole reason we have to model from the front and work backwards is precisely because we don’t know those secrets.

CC: Are you sure about that? If they don’t have a past, then logically they cannot exist.

Herta: Since when do Aeons follow basic logic?

CC: Perhaps it’s not that they don’t follow basic logic; it’s that the basic logic has shifted. 

Herta: It’s an observable and calculable fact. Aeons do not have a past once they ascend. Their cause and effect is completely removed. Even if we know the history, that’s not the same as their footprint beforehand.

Herta: If you had the ability to throw a coin at someone in the past and you targeted an Aeon with it before they ascended, it wouldn’t work because they ‘Don’t Exist’ in the past until that point.

CC: There’s a simple answer to that question.

CC: If their past is no longer observable, then that means it’s no longer the past. Only the future is in flux. The start of an Aeon is the reverse of cause and effect, not the cutoff. The future then becomes the circular past.

Herta: ….

Herta: You’re spouting some crazy logic.

Herta: You’re talking about cyclic universal theory. 

CC: Aeons are facts; therefore, events leading up to them are predetermined. If the universe operates in a cycle, that means once an Aeon is born, their future is therefore the past, and the past is therefore their future; thus, it cannot be properly measured or parsed because the future is not inherently 'knowable.' Even the slave of Destiny only sees possible futures, not absolute certainties. 

CC: Finality drifts backwards by what people call the 'future,' but what if it's actually the past? Since the past already happened, then, therefore, the prophecies are truth because they already happened.

CC: Q.E.D., something cannot exist without a past; therefore, the perception of a [past] must be inherently flawed.

Herta:.…

Herta: That is inherently circular logic!

Herta: You’re saying the universe operates in a cycle because if a cycle exists, then it’s a cycle!

CC: ¯(ツ)/¯

Herta: You are infuriating!

Herta: Are you actually an idiot or not?

Herta: Your logic isn’t without any merit. But your conclusion and assumptions are full of holes! However, there is an intelligent thought somewhere contained within your nonsense, and it has given me some ideas.

Herta: Screwllum also has proposed an ideology similar to the Cyclic Universal Theory. 

CC: To compare me to Screwllum, I must look rather handsome in your eyes.

Herta: Die.

CC: Actually, I think Herta is cute too.

Herta: [Has blocked you.]

CC: You know, I’m willing to take responsibility. 

CC: After what happened between us. As a man, I will do my best to make you happy. After such an intimate time we spent together doing unspeakable things, it’s the least I could do.

Herta: [Has unblocked you.]

Herta: Shut up!

Herta: Don’t you dare bring that up! And I swear to every Aeon in existence, if I find out that it spread even as a rumor, I’ll stop at nothing to make you pay!

CC: Alright, alright. Will you forgive me if I tell you a secret?

Herta: As if you know anything of importance.

Herta: Actually, there is a rumor that you do know a secret.

Herta: I would be begrudgingly willing to hear a secret that makes the Aeon of Elation laugh.

CC: Sorry, that’s a super special secret. I can only tell that to my wife.

Herta: Stop bothering me then.

CC: But I know something else.

CC: Did you know, Stellarons don’t come from [Destruction]?

Herta: !?

Herta: How do you know? That’s only a theory; it’s never been proven.

CC: I know a lot of things.

CC: (◡◕⏖◕)ᑐ🝐 ⠁⭒.✩.⭒⠁

Herta: If you’re not making this up, do you have any idea how valuable just that single statement is? 

Herta: Are you an idiot?

CC: If it makes you happy, then it’s fine.

CC: I wasn’t lying; I think Herta is cute.

Herta: I’m several Amber Eras old. Do you think I’m some little girl just because I use puppets based on myself as a child?

Herta: Stop being stupid.

Herta: ….

Herta: Red.

Herta [Has Logged Off]

Allen just shook his head with a laugh.

He wasn’t lying either.

Herta was very cute.

That’s the biggest joke with Masked Fools. You can tell people truths and closely guarded secrets, and they might not even believe you. The irony is that, a lot of the time, masked fools don’t even lie about this because the truth is so much more fun.

He put those thoughts aside for now because looking out the window, the Xianzhou Loufu finally came into view.

“Amazing…” He whispered to himself at the sight of the planet-sized ship.

He couldn’t help himself; this universe was just so fantastical.

@***@

Allen had long left his room and joined most of the passengers in the lobby as the ship approached the massive world-spanning arc.

There were hundreds of smaller, personal ships passing by. Even more little autonomous ships that carried freight on them as they zipped by heading to various places on the ship.

The ship they were on was very careful to follow a visible ‘line’ that appeared outside the window. The technology allowed them to manifest holograms that depicted ‘traffic lanes’ for incoming and outgoing ships.

Large arches towered over head, a single one able to rupture a planet’s crust if it fell on one.

Massive constructs and devices of unknown origins spanned outwards.

There were gigantic rotating orbs at the tops on either side of the arches, and Allen believed them to be part of the propulsion system of the massive ship when it needed to make jumps into hyperspace.

There was a large gate ahead, but it was not like a normal gate at all.

It was more like a metal ring that surrounded the main capital of the Xianzhou Luofu, creating a shield around the entirety of it.

And it was shut tight.

‘Attention passengers’ A voice came over the intercom. ‘Xianzhou Luofu is currently in a state of lockdown. Due to the appearance of a Stellaron on board the Luofu, no ships are allowed to enter or exit the Jade Gate at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Estimated waiting time is three Galactic Days. The Xianzhou Luofu has promised compensation for this unfortunate timing and will compensate every passenger with a voucher for a week of free lodging within designated Inns across the Xianzhou. If you suffer a monetary loss because of this delay, you may submit a petition to the Skyfaring Commission once the wait period has ended. Thank you for your understanding.’

The room immediately got loud as the crowd inside the lobby began to argue or even raise their voices in protest or annoyance.

People missing appointments, contracts that will become voided because they might be late, and even some people missing connecting flights on secondary ships to other destinations.

The Xianzhou Luofu was a hub of massive scale, so there were people coming and going across the entire universe for various reasons.

However, Allen noted one particular facet amidst the belligerence growing amidst the crowds. 

No one was afraid.

For nearly any other place, the appearance of a Stellaron would have been cause for panic and fear. Here, everyone was more worried about their own inconveniences or losses they were going to suffer.

That was because everyone had a near absolute faith in the Xianzhou.

They were one of the top forces in the entire universe, and it wasn’t hyperbole to say that a Stellaron wasn’t a big deal for them to handle.

That was, of course, if nothing else happened during this time.

It didn’t overly matter to him.

He turned and walked out of the room, instead heading to the lower decks of the ship where the cargo was being held.

Even if ‘people’ couldn’t come and go, that didn’t mean that Cargo couldn’t be moved, right? The systems here were almost entirely automated, and he had seen those cargo transports coming and going outside.

While most people were above deck dealing with the ruckus this pause caused, Allen had already turned into a ship hand and made his way downstairs.

He had passed several people in similar clothing, yet no one batted an eye at his appearance.

A ship the size of Luofu needed a constant supply of foodstuffs or perishable goods to sustain the population. Cargo ships like the one he was on, their schedules extremely tight sometimes, to the point where a few extra days may actually cause some goods to spoil if they weren’t taken in time.

Even if the Luofu was willing to compensate people, that was not a loss they could generally take, because Allen had seen quite a few similarly sized cargo ships waiting outside the Jade Gate.

How many millions of credits—hundreds of millions—or even billions would that be?

Therefore, it stood to reason that they were still accepting Cargo, just without the human element to insert itself into the process.

He made it to the lowest level; the loading bay doors were wide open. Hundreds of staff members were busy moving giant crates, and massive flying carts were zooming down from outside into the bay doors.

The workers were slapping tags on the crates, inputting information into the automated flying carts, and scanning them before they then took off, taking the goods out into the city.

Almost entirely automated.

It was fairly easy for Allen to go towards the docking bay doors, weaving between stacked crates and timing it before jumping out onto a flying cart with a crate on it, landing on it as it continued forward.

He sat cross-legged, smiling as he looked up at the 'sky.'

The Xianzhou Luofu utilized their technology to put a false sky up above them. A calm blue sky, even with clouds drifting by.

No, those were real clouds.

He realized it; they created a fully articulate false sky and weather system for their ship.

If you squinted, you could actually see the starry sky behind the blue firmament.

There was a thought that occurred to Allen.

Was it really this easy to sneak in when the ship was on lockdown? Because the cargo cart was approaching the Jade Gate, heading right towards the ethereal barrier without stopping.

Just as it was about to hit it, a small hole opened up and he relaxed, only for him to stiffen as the screen around the hole turned red and an alarm blared just as he went through.

"Well…shit." He scratched his head. “I guess it triggered off a ‘living person’?” He didn’t know the specifics of the mechanism, but that seemed like the most probable explanation.

If a person tried to sneak in, it would scan them even if a hole opened up.

He imaged that the deposit location of this flying cart would be arriving with groups of Cloud Knights waiting for an inspection.

He leaned over the edge, pulling open the container he was sitting on before rolling off the edge and landing inside of it, pulling the door shut.

He looked at the interior; there were stacks of crates. He pushed one open, and his eyes brightened. “Purple Peaches? I love these!” He grabbed one with a smile, biting into it. “Mmm, so sweet.”

He didn’t remember what planet they came from, but they were a very popular fruit!

The cargo transport landed, and there were immediately dozens of voices shouting outside. Some barking orders, some yelling, but the sounds of footsteps could be clearly heard.

“By order of the Cloud Knights! Anyone inside is ordered to discard any weapons and present themselves for arrest! Resistance will be met with equal force!” The shipping container was pulled open; dozens of Cloud Knights were pointing their glaives at it, forming a full perimeter.

“Meoow~” A cat ran out of the container, half a peach in its mouth, much to their confusion and surprise.

“False alarm, just a cat that got trapped inside.” The Cloud Knight commander at the front declared as everyone relaxed. “Dammit, someone grab it!” 

The cat ran away much to his chagrin, disappearing from view.

The Cloud Knight Commander sighed. “Someone go catch that cat, please. You know how the Sky Faring Commission is about strays in the docks.”

They broke off to try and go find it, but no one noticed the cat looking at them from above, sitting on top of seven of eight stacked freight containers.

As they scattered, the cat disappeared back into Allen’s silhouette as he finished off his peach.

Allen kicked his feet off the edge, wiping his hands clean as he surveyed the surroundings. And something in particular caught his eye.

The Astral Express, in all its glory.

It was docked not far away; he could see it in the distance. Recalling from his memories, this was certainly the place they came to when they arrived at the Xianzhou Luofu. So it seems that they certainly did arrive before him.

You just can’t compete with the speed of the Astral Express when it comes to traversing the universe.

He had quite a few goals for arriving at the Xianzhou Luofu, but one of them was specifically because of something regarding the Astral Express. Whether now or later, well, it didn’t make much difference.

But since it was right here, he may as well go deal with that now.

@***@

It was easy to approach.

There were no layers of guards.

There were no monsters lurking around every corner.

Even normal workers were minimal in the area, as the problems the Xianzhou Luofu were facing were still ongoing.

There were in fact a few Marastruck monsters out and about, but Allen didn’t even bother to approach them for the time being.

Because there was a yearning in his heart for the train in front of him.

A beautiful machine that sat on ethereal tracks.

As an emanator of elation, how could he not be in tune with the yearnings of his heart? The feeling of exuberance, nostalgia, and excitement all boiled over as he put a single hand on the side of the train car.

It would be very easy to pull the door open and sneak inside.

Teleportation wouldn't work, he had a feeling. The power of ‘Trailblaze’ was quite potent. If you wanted to step onto that path, you needed to do it with your own two feet.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. There were some sorts that were able to sneak on board without going through the front door.

Allen took out his phone.

CC: Hey.

Nihilux: ? Do you need something?

CC: Yeah.

CC: Sorry to bother you again, and I don’t mean to keep badgering you for something; I know you don’t really like that. But this is a…special request. I’m standing outside the Astral Express, and I didn’t want to break in.

CC: It just felt wrong.

CC: It’s fine if you don’t want to help; I’m not begging, or it’s not an emergency or anything. Just wondering if you still have that ticket around of yours back when they were playing around as a nameless. If not, it’s not a big deal; I figured I would ask. I know that you also have a special fondness for the Astral Express.

CC: Even if you blew part of it up.

Nihilux: ┬┴┤ω･`)

Nihilux: You can’t prove anything.

Nihilux: But you know… you really do have a sweet side.

Allen was about to say something, but he felt a tickling on the back of his nape. It was as if a pair of arms wrapped around him warmly and guided him to take out his deck of cards.

The top card flipped over to reveal the Joker.

Aha’s face on it showed a silent laugh, and the surface of the card vibrated and then rippled like a drop of water hitting a still lake.

A Golden Ticket emerged from it.

‘May this journey lead you starward, my little clown.'

The feeling disappeared as he grasped the ticket in his hand.

Allen couldn’t help but smile. He knew she didn’t have to help him, and perhaps, she actually didn’t want to. Aeons operated on a different paradigm, and even Aha, who is much more carefree, would get annoyed about someone continuously asking for handouts.

Yeah, technically he didn’t need it; he could easily break into the train himself, and it didn’t change things one way or another.

But he felt a strange sense of affection from Nihilux nonetheless.

Perhaps it was proper to say that it wasn’t a gift from Aha, but it was a gift from Nihilux. She was the one that gave him words of encouragement, the one who listened to him complain, and the one who let him relax and open up without any sort of judgement or expectation.

And of course, she was going to be the future mother of his children.

He promised himself that.

He put a hand back on the train, on the door, and to his surprise, it unlocked itself. He looked at the ticket in his hand, assuming that this was the reason.

He slid the door open and walked into the carriage. It was the passenger cabin, if he recalled correctly. There was a faint smell of coffee coming from the other end of the carriage, and Allen guessed it was from Himeko’s room.

The lights above were interesting; they were in the shape of aquatic creatures—whales, fish with wings, but they spread out across the ceiling looking like them swimming across the air.

Allen waved a hand over his face, putting on a new mask.

He never liked wearing heels, but the need sometimes arises.

He ran a hand through his now red hair. He wasn’t sure if it was just him or not, but sometimes he couldn’t help but feel that wearing other 'masks' was rather cumbersome. Not weighty in the sense that it was draining on him. But rather, now having long, heavy hair like this was rather odd.

Regardless, he now looked rather similar to Himeko, the Navigator for the Astral Express. Albeit, with perhaps a few minor differences that most wouldn’t notice even after staring at her now.

From his memories, he knew that both Himeko and Dan Heng stayed back initially. But a situation arose that caused Dan Heng to head out into the Luofu. Allen wasn’t sure if he was still here at the moment, but he ultimately chose to take the appearance of Himeko. He figured that at the very least, if he got caught by the ‘real one,' Dan Heng would be much less willing to humor him. 

He peeked through the door window to the parlor car and saw it was empty and silently slid it open to enter.

Allen just stopped and stared.

It was hard to put into feelings, honestly. He had seen this place for years on the other side of a screen, and now he was standing inside.

Couches and chairs were set up for everyone just as he remembered.

There was even a certain mirror on the other side of the room that was doing its best to hide from his eyes. If it was just a random person of the Gardens of Recollection, his disguise was more than enough to trick them.

His eyes finished scanning the room, then they landed on a record player. It was far beyond what one would think of when they heard the term. No, it was called a phonograph if he remembered correctly.

There was a crystal hovering above the record, spinning with a slow light underneath a floating cover. But it still somehow retained that same style that Allen was familiar with when older technology was mentioned.

He pressed a button on the large console, and it opened up, revealing dozens of records in storage. He read them carefully before finding one in particular and putting it into the slow and turning the device on.

A soft guitar string sounded, filling the carriage.

‘The Way to Celebrate

I’ll be waiting.

Till we make it

The day to celebrate

I'll be waiting.

Till we make it

Oh, we will see.

Come with me, take the journey.

The song was one that held some rather precious memories of his when it came to this universe. Perhaps it was weird to say, but it helped him calm down somewhat and feel relaxed.

That is, until the door opened.

It wasn’t Himeko, because he would have noticed her getting close. There was only one other person on board right now from what he could tell when he first entered. 

The reason he couldn’t notice this one—perhaps it was because they were a creation of the Trailblaze Aeon, and the entity itself was a creation of the Trailblaze? It was like trying to pick out a dollop of water inside a cup of water.

It was Pom-Pom, the Conductor.

A rabbit-like creature wearing elaborate red conductor clothes.

Allen immediately got into character. “Oh, hello, Pom-Pom.” He could match her voice fairly easily considering his previous knowledge. “I just thought I would put on some music while the others were away.”

Pom-Pom stared at her for a long moment and spoke without hesitation. “Pom-Pom knows you aren’t Himeko.”

Allen didn’t show it, but under his mask, his eyes widened in surprise. “What do you mean, Pom-Pom? Is something wrong?” He did his best to act confused.

Strangely, the creature didn’t make a fuss despite looking at Allen weirdly. “It’s not Pom-Pom’s first time with Masked Fools!” He harrumphed.

"...what gave it away?” Allen dropped the act.

He had fooled even Stonehearts to their faces, yet this little thing was able to see through his disguise? He could have kept it up, tried to play it off, but at the same time…he felt like he had lost a game he didn’t know he was playing.

Getting called out as a masked fool so quickly and easily, maybe it was proper to accept the defeat?

“Himeko only plays that song when a new Nameless joins the crew, Pom-pom.” It nodded to itself. “And Pom-Pom is the conductor. Pom-Pom knows when someone comes on board, especially with a ticket. Pom-Pom recognizes every ticket that comes on board the train."

It clicked into place then.

Allen let out a sigh. 

It really was his own fault for not being meticulous and letting his own nostalgia blind him or keep him from doing things properly.

“Why didn’t you call Himeko over?” Allen asked curiously. “She would have done her best to expel me, right? I snuck on board.”

“Ticket.” Pom-Pom held out its hand…paw?

Allen looked at its expectant expression, and he set the ticket down in its paw.

“Hmm, Pom-Pom thought so. It’s from that masked one!” Its cheeks puffed up. “But even so, Pom-Pom recognizes the ticket, so Pom-Pom won’t kick you off. A ticket means you’re allowed to ride. Did the Mask one not tell you, Pom-Pom?”

Aha did not inform him of that fact, or rather Nihilux didn’t.

“Do you want to join the Nameless?” Pom-Pom asked.

The abrupt question had Allen stilling. “You’re…inviting me to join the Trailblaze?”

“A Nameless is allowed to pass on their ticket to a successor, Pom-Pom. If you want to join, Pom-Pom will let you.”

He understood now.

She was giving him a choice.

He could join the Nameless right here and now. And he knew that she would support his decision and not say a word about it. It was a place to join, somewhere to find purpose and find his own place in this strange universe he found himself in.

“Aren’t you scared? Didn’t the last owner of this ticket blow up the train?" Allen laughed, playing it off.

“Pom-Pom knows! Pom-Pom remembers.” He harrumphed again. "But…Pom-Pom doesn’t have many old friends left. Pom-Pom thinks that the Masked One was the worst Nameless! But…he was still nameless. So Pom-Pom won’t reject you.”

His mask shattered.

It wasn’t intentional.

The image of Himeko was gone, and it was just Allen standing there now, stripped down to just his normal appearance.

He wanted to say yes.

“I’m sorry, I’ll have to decline.” He forced himself to say. Because he knew that his destination wasn’t the starry sky on the horizon.

The conductor smiled. “It’s okay, Pom-Pom. Pom-Pom is happy to know that you’re holding that ticket now. Pom-Pom thinks you would be a good trailblazer. Not all Trailblazers need to ride on the Astral Express.”

“What makes you say that?” He was confused.

“You could have been mean, but you’re talking to Pom-Pom. Pom-Pom knows you’re a good person; Pom-Pom can see it in your eyes. Pom-Pom sees that you look at the Astral Express fondly."

Perhaps he wasn’t as subtle as he thought.

“Do you want to sign the guest book?” Pom-Pom asked as he walked to the table, picking up a book off of it. “Pom-Pom and the other Nameless like to record every visitor that comes on board.”

Allen took a deep breath. “I’m afraid that I will have to ruin your perception of me. I didn’t come here with good intentions. Unfortunately, I came here to commit a theft.”

However, despite him saying that, Pom—Pom barely reacted. “Pom-Pom doesn’t think that bad thieves would tell Pom-Pom something like that.”

Allen let out a laugh. “Well, maybe I’m not as good at stealing as I think I am. The Stellaron from Belobog, is it here on the train?"

It was his entire reason for coming onto the train, not just for a nostalgia trip. The Stellaron from Belobog, the planet they visited before this. All Allen remembered was that Welt Yang had sealed it after dealing it at the end of the fight with the person corrupted by it. 

However, he never remembered it being mentioned that it was left on the planet.

If Welt Yang was the one who sealed it, then it stood to reason that he would need to continuously do so, right? It wouldn’t be a simple ‘seal and done,' would it? That was his thought process at least. It took Herta creating an entire space station to properly seal one in its entirety. If it was so easy, then Welt Yang wouldn’t have simply waved his hand and done so without any effort.

He was aware of Welt Yang’s identity and what his cane was. It allowed him to manipulate vast amounts of energy, which more or less made him the best person to handle Stellarons around. But Allen still felt like it wouldn’t be any permanent if it was just left for the people of Belabog to handle.

Worst case, he made this trip for nothing, but it wasn’t like he went out of his way here to confirm that tidbit.

It would have been far worse if he made a trip to Belobog and found that it wasn’t actually there anymore.

“Pom-Pom will go get it for you.” The creatures turned around and left right out the door, leaving Allen in a dumbstruck stupor.

Was it that easy?

He was expecting Himeko to come flying in and doing her best to throw him off the train after Pom-Pom told her there was an intruder. But much to his surprise, Pom-Pom came walking right back in without a second thought, holding something between its hands.

“Welt put it in Pom-Pom’s Engine Room. So Pom-Pom is deciding to give it to you. Welt said that Pom-Pom’s Engine Room had a natural sealing effect on it, so Pom-Pom is warning you to be careful now that it’s taken out.”

There was a cube between its hands, made of some material that looked like glass on the outside. There was a swirling black hole inside and a bright ethereal light at the very center, suppressed by the black hole.

"...you're just giving it to me?” Allen asked.

Wasn’t he the one that was supposed to be the Mask Fool and mess with people? Did the script get reversed when he wasn’t looking? Did Aha replace Pom-Pom and was playing a joke on him?

“Do you know what I could do with this?” He asked the conductor.

“Pom-Pom knows that it’s dangerous. But Pom-Pom doesn’t think you’re a bad person.” The conductor smiled. “When the Masked One blew up the Train, none of the Nameless were hurt too bad. Pom-Pom will trust you because Pom-Pom knows and believes in the other Nameless.”

Hesitantly, Allen accepted it.

It was a ridiculous amount of power contained within this thing. Each Stellaron was utterly ridiculous just like that. They were more or less wish-granting devices when you got down to it. It had the power to ruin entire planets—entire solar systems even.

“But Pom-Pom isn’t giving it to you for free.” The conductor picked up the guest book. “Pom-Pom wants you to sign into the Guest Book. That is Pom-Pom’s price.”

Allen found himself unable to argue.

He grabbed the pen offered and began to write his name.

The Crowned Clown.

As soon as he finished, he stared at it and hesitated before crossing it out.

Allen Walker.

There was a space to leave a personal message as well, a note.

Someone has once said that when you have the chance to make a choice, do not regret it. However, to have regrets is what makes us human. I regret that I don’t have the same courage to travel among those here. But that feeling of regret is a reminder that I am still myself.

When you have the chance to make a choice, if you have regrets afterwards, that’s fine. But when you make your choice, don’t let anyone else choose for you.

May your journey lead you forward.

It was short, but he put down the pen as he finished.

Pom-Pom didn’t comment on what he wrote.

“Most Nameless board the train with something missing in their heart.” Pom-Pom looked at him. “Pom-Pom hopes that you can find what you’re looking for.”

Allen realized that the conductor was much more perceptive than he let on.

“Thank you.” Allen said sincerely. “It seems I should go. I don’t like being stared at so intently.” He wasn’t speaking of Pom-Pom; he could feel the eyes of the person from the Garden of Recollection at the other side of the room.”

He was just saying that in jest for no one in particular, but he noticed that Pom-Pom’s eyes traveled over to that specific corner, making Allen pause.

“You know about them?” Allen looked at Pom-Pom in surprise. “I thought for sure that person from the Garden of Recollection would have removed any memories of themselves if they were hiding.”

“Pom-Pom remembers. Pom-Pom is the conductor; Pom-Pom knows whenever someone comes onto the train, even if they aren’t invited. Pom-Pom remembered everything eventually.  Pom-Pom saw that person mess with the memories of the other passengers, and Pom-Pom couldn’t do anything about it. Pom-Pom was scared that Pom-Pom’s memories would be taken away again if Pom-Pom said anything.”

The mirror in the back corner shattered—not physically, but across a different dimension as someone stepped back.

A person from the Garden of Recollection appeared and was reaching out for both Pom-Pom and Allen to remove their memories of its existence.

“I’m sorry, but for the sake of their own good, I’ll need to remove—" It was a woman with a faceless exterior, like a blank screen covering her nonexistent face.

Allen grasped her neck before she could finish, not letting her continue with what she was going to do.

“How funny. I think what I hate the most is people who do something for someone else's ‘own good’ against their wishes. Mr. Conductor, what is your opinion?" Allen asked.

“The crew voted to kick them off, Pom-Pom!” He said indignantly. “But when they demanded they leave, they messed with the crew’s memories! Pom-Pom isn’t strong, but Pom-Pom doesn’t want them on the train!"

“Then let me repay my debt, if just a little.” Allein used his free hand to pull out his Jack of Hearts. “I learned this from the most manly of card game enthusiasts.” He stuffed the person from the Garden of Recollection into the Jack Card. He then went over to the mirror, grabbing it and shoving it inside too. “This only works because you don’t have a physical body.” He looked at the card; the woman from the Garden of Recollection was banging on it from the other side.

Memokeepers, they abandon their physical body, becoming Memetic Entities, basically a type of spiritual being that allows them to go about their jobs better. Things like messing with someone’s memories or scouring the universe for the memories of others become much easier.

Just briefly, the full cowl and hood of The Crowned Clown appeared over him as he reeled his hand back and threw the card with all of his strength.

The Jack disappeared before it could hit the wall, like skipping a stone across a lake; it teleported over and over again until it escaped the solar system and kept going. 

The Jack of Hearts ripped and tore apart after skipping three more solar systems away, forcing the Memokeeper out, along with her mirror, floating in the dead of space.

That is, until a spaceship flying at the warp slammed right into her and kept going as it continued even further away.

“If they come back, you can use my name to warn them again.” Allen told Pom-Pom he held the ticket out to give it to Pom-Pom to return it, but Pom-Pom pushed it away.

“The ticket doesn’t belong to Pom-Pom.” The conductor rejected it immediately. “If The Masked One gave it to you, and you don’t want it, then you can give it to someone who you think needs it.”

His fingers curled back around the ticket, holding it tightly.

Allen looked down, finding the right words difficult. He swiped his hand over his face, putting on a new mask, changing into the appearance of someone else, randomly, from his memories, before smiling brightly. “Until we meet again, little Conductor. Adios.” He didn’t look back as he left the Astral Express.

Most likely for the first and last time.

@***@

A/N

Okay, so the Stellaron being on the Astral Express is something I added in. At the end of the whole Belobog arc, Welt apparently sealed the Stellaron on the planet. But, like….it was just left there? Herta had to build an entire space statin to safely confine a non-activated Stellaron to study. And yet, Yang can just wave his hand and seal one? That seems rather absurd.

Now, I know that he can certainly do that canonically, to an extent. He stops the one in the MC from rampaging right away at the start of the game of course. But what I mean is, it can’t be a permanent sealing, right? My logic is that he can easily handle the vast amounts of power of a STellaron and seal it due to his status from HI3, and his Cane. But my thought is that it’s a continuous requirement. It’s not a one and done thing, otherwise that sort of infantilizes the whole Stellaron crisis. And Belobog wouldn’t have the means to handle that sort of thing.

Therefore, my head canon is that it’s being sealed continuously on the Astral Express until they find a way to deal with it because it’s not really mentioned about what happens to it after Belobog.