#Abrupt ending IK but MAN I was already writing way more than I had planned for that epilogue bit

[office-worker-91]

Infinity Train Fear and Hunger AU Snippet 5 (Finale)

(TW: Gore, mentions of limb loss)

Despite the danger of the dungeon, they almost made it out without issue. Now that Jesse was dead set on getting home, he actually had a decent idea of where the exit was. Now that Lake had worked out their anger on the subject, they were actually feeling fairly good about the situation. What had seemed like a distant dream all their life was now within their grasp.

After they returned to the regular dungeon area from the city, Jesse led Lake and Alan Dracula back towards where he was sure the exit was. Part of him had become antsy. Now that he had officially given up on finding some magic to help Nate, he wanted to get out as soon as possible. Lake made sure to temper his ambitions every time they could see him getting sloppy with his stealth. It wouldn't matter how fast they got to the exit if they were both dead. Though they did have to get there without resting. They'd been fairly lucky with finding safe sleeping areas, but they didn't trust their own luck.

Lake and Jesse held hands as they walked, so that Jesse could know Lake was behind him without turning around and taking his attention off of his surroundings. Alan Dracula followed behind them, though he didn't seem to understand that they were supposed to be stealthy right now. He kept impatiently pushing Lake forward or trying to walk forward past the two of them, like he wasn't worried at all. Between making sure Jesse was paying attention and making sure Alan Dracula didn't get them caught, Lake didn't have much time to think about what would happen once they escaped. They couldn't afford to daydream.

All their efforts were for naught when a hulking creature burst through the wall in front of them. A humanoid bird-headed creature with a deadly mace for an arm and a blood-stained beak.

Lake was hit with a weird sense of familiarity when she realized this same creature had been tailing Tulip during her time in the dungeon. But Tulip, lucky punk that she was, had somehow managed to avoid the more aggressive part of its attention. They hadn't been so fortunate apparently.

Jesse yelped as Lake pulled him back just in time to avoid getting his head bitten off. A part of Lake wanted to scream in agony, that they had been so close to escaping the dungeon only to get cut off by some bird-brained brutalizer. But at the same time, Jesse had almost died and they had about zero seconds to react until the crow-headed man's next attack, so if they had to retreat back into the dungeon, that's what they would do. Lake pulled the two back, avoiding a swipe from its arm-mace, and started to run back the way they'd came.

There was only one problem: Alan Dracula wasn't moving. At all. He just stared as the crow mauler approached in the other direction. Without hesitation, Lake let go of Jesse, hoping he would stay behind them, and drew their morning star. They swung to counter an attack aimed at AD.

*SNAP*

Lake's trusty morning star, the weapon they'd relied upon their entire free life, snapped helplessly against the crow mauler's weapon. Lake was knocked onto the ground in front of Alan Dracula. Lake looked up, hoping the deer would be surprisingly reliable, like he usually was, but the deer simply looked down at Lake, with something like a detached lovingness. Appreciated. Not helping.

Lake held up their broken weapon in a desperate attempt to block the black death descending upon them, but Jesse had predictably not taken the hint and thrust his spear into the chest of the beast. It was a powerful strike, evident by how he had practically thrown himself forward and fallen on his face in front of them. Still, despite the attempt, the attack hadn't even embedded the entire tip of the spear into the monster's chest, and it fell pitifully and uselessly in front of the two of them.

The crow mauler, completely undaunted by the attempts at stopping it, opened its beak, opening what looked like a void in its mouth. Jesse desperately clawed at Lake's shoulders, no doubt trying to pull himself up to get in front of them, the idiot. Lake wouldn't let that happen and curled their metal body over Jesse. If they could protect him and Alan Dracula long enough for them to escape, out of the dungeons and into whatever better world Jesse had lived in before, everything that they lived would've been worth it. It would've been a good life.

The crow mauler gave a terrible shriek, no doubt preparing to attack. And then it kept shrieking. And Lake's distressed thoughts managed to collect themselves enough to think that... it sounded like it was in pain.

Jesse and Lake simultaneously looked up and found a horrific mass of brown fur swirling around the crow mauler like a hurricane. Multiple sets of horns had pierced entirely through the creature's body. Above the storm of gore, black feathers, and fur, the elongated head of Alan Dracula emerged, looking down on the mauler. His eyes glowed with some unearthly power. Lake got a weird feeling of déjà vu, thinking back to the city and how it had immediately made them feel as if they were witnessing something not meant for mortal eyes. This gave them about ten times that reaction.

Lake pushed Jesse's head to the ground and covered their own eyes. They heard the shrieks of the once mighty beast growing higher and higher pitched, and then-

nothing

Lake cautiously peered up. Alan Dracula stood in a pile of red with feathers floating in it. He stared at them, his eyes no longer glowing oh-so-terribly, now back to its weirdly comforting all-black color.

Jesse asked, muffled against the stone floor, if they were dead yet, to which Lake let him up. Surprisingly, despite witnessing what had just happened, the two silently elected not to talk about it. Alan Dracula began walking towards the exit, and the two mortals followed him. That was the last monster the dungeon ever threw at them.

When they reached the doors, Alan Dracula hastily shoved the shell-shocked teens outside. By the time they looked back, AD was already disappearing back into the darkness of the dungeon, having evidently done what he wanted to do.

Lake's thoughts swirled around in their head. Their entire life was still flashing before their eyes as if they were still in that hallway with the monster.

The sun is nice. Not as nice as Jesse, in fact it's a little harsh, but it's a welcome change. And it's warm. The "sun" in the underground city hadn't been warm.

There was green all around the dungeon entrance. Lake supposed this was what a forest looked like when you weren't viewing it through a shaky pond reflection.

Jesse, despite everything they had just gone through, wordlessly extended his hand to Lake. Lake looked at it like it was everything they'd ever wanted, and in a sense it was. It was time for them to enter the real world. It's all uphill from here.

Lake took Jesse's hand, and the two began walking.

.....

Travelling across the land had not only been comparably a breeze, it had also been fascinating. Tulip almost never left her town, and when she did they had only seen what had been reflected. Here, among the grass and the trees, the only thing they had to worry about was their legs hurting. And maybe some bandits, but they were confident they could handle that.

Jesse was quickly back to his normal, positive self. And Lake hadn't known what they were missing out on, because apparently, instead of whistling, Jesse usually SINGS. He just hadn't wanted to attract attention. It was the most unbelievably corny and in character thing, and Lake cherished every new thing they were learning about him just like he seemed to cherish every new thing they experienced.

As they neared the town where the Cosay's lived, Jesse got increasingly nervous. After all, he had run away from home immediately after Nate had lost his arm due to HIS mistakes. But Lake kept pushing him through. They pushed each other through, really. Lake still had nightmares. They were sure Jesse did too. But they would never have to face them alone.

As they neared the town, Jesse talking nervously about how much they're going to love him parents and how excited he was to get out of his blood-soaked clothes and take a bath, Lake looked out over the... well, the lake that Jesse had told them he loved so much to swim in. They smiled at the image of the afternoon sun reflecting off the water's surface.

The Cosays, evidently, did not prioritize any anger they might've held for their eldest son's actions over their concern for his safety. Jesse cried his eyes out as he embraced his family and swore up and down that yes, he was okay, the blood on his shirt was mostly his but it was also old and he's much better now. Lake stood awkwardly behind him, waiting for the reunion to finish.

The Cosays barely questioned Jesse when he told them that Lake had saved their life while they were away from home. The two were taken in and given a nice change of clothes and a bath. Lake had never had a bath before. They hadn't thought it necessary as a metal person, but they felt surprisingly relaxed by it.

Jesse's apology to his little brother wasn't easy. Nate was happy his brother was alive, but he couldn't really bring himself to forgive Jesse. Jesse assured him that was okay, even though he was sniffling as he talked. Healing takes time, after all.

Nothing was perfect. If one were a pessimist, they may assume everything had gotten worse. But Jesse was alive and here with the Cosays, to help them with whatever they needed, provided he didn't have to risk his life for unattainable eldritch power. And Lake hadn't escaped to some fairy-tale land where everything was safe and happy, but they HAD escaped. They were free, free to pursue whatever dreams or goals they wanted. And they planned on taking full advantage of that... so long as they didn't have to leave Jesse's side for too long, at least.