Sean stared breathlessly into Illinois's soft brown eyes, his hand sliding down Illinois's cheek to his shoulder. Curling his fingers up in his shirt, Sean wispily mumbled out almost to himself. "But I don't... I'm... not gay." Illinois blushed a little, then slid off the couch to head for the kitchen as he said lightly under his breath. "You don't sound too sure about that. But if I made you uncomfortable... I'm sorry." Sean's heart ached watching him walk away. Although Illinois was playing off their interaction like it was nothing, he could tell that he'd hurt him. Illinois turned a brass knob on a cabinet to unlock it, then slid it open to remove a tin cup as he told him flatly. "You should probably eat something. How does soup sound?" Shakily getting to his feet, Sean moved to the dark wooden counter and leaned on it. Illinois was avoiding his eyes now as he started to prep the kitchen to make tea and soup. Watching him with a heavy heart, Sean asked him curiously. "Illinois? Have I been to Wonderland before?" Illinois put a brass pot in the sink to fill it with water, replying numbly in a rehearsed kind of way. "Everyone that can dream and imagine has been to Wonderland at one point in their life."

Sean tapped the counter with his fingers, drawing Illinois's attention to the weird sound. Once they locked eyes, Sean seriously asked him. "Let me rephrase that. Have WE ever met in Wonderland before?" Illinois was silent for a time, before nodding and quickly turning away to put the pot on the stove and locking it in place. Leaning more on the counter, Sean blurted out. "Tell me about it." Illinois hefted a sigh, latching a lid down on the pot, before reluctantly replying. "I can't." Sean groaned with frustration, then snapped out. "Why not?" Illinois started to unlatch the fridge to open it and Sean impatiently moved around the counter. Firmly shutting the fridge door when Illinois opened it, Sean pressed his back to it. Staring at Illinois's face, he asked in a calmer voice. "Illinois... Why did the White Rabbit lead me to YOU? What is everyone not telling me?" Illinois backed up to lean his hips against the counter, then told him casually. "I want to tell you... but I can't. Because it... it could kill you." Sean crossed his arms and was going to snap something out but stopped when Illinois held up a finger. Retrieving a shelled walnut from a jar on the counter, Illinois set it on the countertop and picked up a meat hammer.

Gesturing to the walnut, Illinois told him gently. "You've been told that you're an Oyster, right? You know about your pearl? Your mind?" Sean nodded and Illinois nodded in return before continuing. "Alright. Here's the thing. Pearls are beautiful and powerful. Just one of you can power this entire train for as long as you live with little to no effort. But..." Illinois showed him the hammer and told him. "Pearls are fragile. Given the right pressure in the right places..." Illinois put the hammer on the walnut and put his weight on it. The shell cracked under the growing weight, before smashing apart. Illinois dropped the hammer on the counter, telling Sean seriously. "The mind can only handle so much... and if you can't remember on your own or someone forces you to remember. Your mind could snap and you'll never be able to go home." Sean shrugged, uneasily saying. "I don't understand. You think keeping me in the dark is saving me from pain?" Illinois moved up to him, stroking his cheek as he told him lovingly. "Yes. If I were to tell you... You would force yourself to remember... and you're just not ready." Sean rolled his eyes, prompting Illinois to wipe dried blood from under Sean's nose.

Staring at the blood on his finger, Illinois told him softly. "Think of like this then. You got scratched. Now... I can clean the wound. I can stitch it up. I can bandage it. I can even kiss it to make the pain fade. But I can't physically heal it. That part is only something that you can do. The more you pick at a wound... the longer it takes to heal." Illinois removed his hat and pressed his forehead to his, his voice low and soothing when he added. "I'm doing all I can to help you. You can trust me to look out for you. But please understand that... I've done all that I can." Sean tilted his head back against the fridge door, whispering out with a fluttering heart. "I'm so confused... I feel like I can trust you... but I..." Illinois brushed his fingers along Sean's neck, bringing his lips closer to his lips as he told him in a buttery voice. "I know. That's why I'm telling you to relax. I know what I'm doing." Illinois backed up without kissing him. Instead, he booped Sean's nose with the brim of his brown fedora hat and put it back on with a smile. Pointing back to the couch, he told him through a chuckle. "Now sit down before you fall down." Sean huffed, making his way carefully back to the couch.

Sean watched Illinois work as he cooked with a small smile. No one had ever cooked for him before. He'd always done the cooking. Biting his lip, he listened to the calming sounds of the train mixed with the soft hiss from the kitchen. When he finished, they sat together on the couch to eat. Between spoonful's of soup, Sean asked Illinois curiously. "Tell me about yourself, Illinois." Illinois shrugged, staring into his bowl of soup when said nonchalantly. "There isn't much to know about me. I'm an adventure seeker. Always trying to preserve lost pieces of our history. Hoping to discover what all this means. Uncover the truth and not the lies were told about the past. You know. Normal boring stuff." Sean smirked, asking curiously. "But what made you start doing that?" Illinois licked his lips with distant eyes, before mumbling out softly. "My father was obsessed with history... He cared more about the past than the present. Didn't leave much room for me in his life. I had to uncover lost civilizations just to get him to talk to me. After a while... I just got good at it." Illinois inhaled deeply, perking up when he blurted out. "Enough about me. What do you do back home?" Sean opened his mouth to answer, when a knock came at the door.

Illinois raised a hand to gesture Sean to stay where he was, then got up to look out of the peek hole in the door. Letting out a groan, Illinois opened the door. Just before Illinois spoke, the person on the other side chipperly rushed out. "Hi, how are you doing today? Have you heard the good news?" Illinois started to slam the door, stating out flatly. "Beat it. We don't care what you're selling." The person jammed their foot in the door, their hand firmly gripped the side to push it open a bit forcefully as he rushed out still happy and unfazed. "Wait a minute! Hang on there. My name is Elder Jeremiah of the Wonderland Train. And you are here to learn about our train and what we do here." Illinois slammed the door on Elder Jeremiah's foot, causing Elder Jeremiah to wince, but stand firm as he continued with a strain to his chipper voice now. "Whaaa... What we do here is teach you the good news about this book here. And make your life so much better with all of our teachings that we have to learn about today." Illinois leaned against the wall, dryly blurting out. "Move your foot or I'll hit it with the door again. That makes me feel better than anything in that book."

Elder Jeremiah straightened up with a deep breath, telling Illinois swiftly. "See? Whether you realize it or not. I've made an impact on your life. Now hear me out for just a minute of your time." Illinois rolled his eyes, swiftly interjecting. "You're making an impact on the door that's for sure." Illinois tried to slam the door again, but this time, Elder Jeremiah braced his arm out to take the hit and informed Illinois with less chipperness and more firm disappointment. "DON'T... do that. Now, a minute of your time will hardly kill you. And if you don't want to be used as fuel for the engine... Then you will have to sign one of our contracts." Illinois tensed up, his face going a bit pale when he asked. "Excuse me?" Elder Jeremiah flashed him a grin, stating back in a nice voice. "You are excused. Now. According to our records, there are four of you? And to stay in the VIP car apartments, you will have to sign away your soul or the soul of a friend who is willing to serve your time. Now. For a limited time, we are hosting a bundle package. This allows one of you to sell your soul and lets the others stay here with you in this apartment. BUT they have to partake in at least one of the Seven Sin games that King Dice hosts in the Gamble Car. It's tons of fun. And the food and drinks are endless! So, you can play and party for as long as you want."

Sean straightened up as the hair on his arms rose. What did this mean? He didn't like that Illinois looked so terrified. Illinois chuckled out nervously to Elder Jeremiah. "Oh, no... I think there has been a mistake. See. Wilford paid for this. He..." Illinois suddenly drifted off, muttering under his breath. "Son of a bitch..." Elder Jeremiah pushed the door open wide, then hugged a large brown leather hardback book to his chest. The brown book had golden corners and brass gears all over it. Elder Jeremiah leaned closer to him, cooing out. "I'm sorry, Sir. But according to OUR system. Wilford swiped them from one of our hot tables in the Gamble Car. The particular lady that he swiped them from has been compensated for the loss. But there are no free rides on the Devil's train. So, as of this moment. You are in debt to King Dice. Should you refuse to pay... J.J. will throw you into the engine." Illinois swallowed, asking curiously. "How long do we have to pay?" Elder Jeremiah pulled up the white sleeve of his dress shirt to look at his watch. After calculating something in his head, he told Illinois with a smile. "Four hours exactly. And I suggest we use the time for you to pick a contract of your choosing. Otherwise, if you wait too long and haven't picked one, then the contract will be picked for you by either the Devil or King Dice. Depending entirely on who is available at the time that you default."

Illinois glanced back at Sean with nervous eyes, then asked Elder Jeremiah calmly. "Ok. Can you wait here? I think I should use one of the hours to go retrieve my companions. That way we can all discuss this together." Elder Jeremiah shrugged, happily stating out. "Certainly." Illinois extended out a hand toward Sean. Sean quickly finished off his bowl of soup, then rushed over to take his hand. Illinois quickly led him out into the hallway and back toward the elevator. Upon sliding the door shut, the elevator started to go down as Sean asked Illinois nervously. "Did you not know this would happen?" Illinois cleared his throat, mumbling out under his breath. "This is a complication... We need to get off this train." Sean's eyes widened, asking anxiously. "Why is that exactly? Besides the whole selling your soul thing...?" Illinois was overly alert to his surroundings, watching the staircase that spiraled around the elevator as he informed him in a low voice. "The Devil is supposed to be in the dungeon of the King of Heart's Casino. If I'm right... The King of Heart's released him on purpose. This train is a trap."

The brass speaker in the elevator crackled like an old radio, before a playfully voice told them. "Hello, Illinois. You're close. But sorry, Kid. No dice. You've been off the air too long. I called in a few favors. Pulled from my resources and made some good investments to expand my services." Sean looked up at the brass speaker, asking Illinois a little timidly. "Who is it?" The voice chuckled, slipping in coolly. "I'll give you a hint. I want to watch the scum of the world struggle to climb up the hill of betterment, only to repeatedly trip and tumble down to the fiery pit of failure. I'm an entertainer that shines in the spotlight... and I'm not what you want, but I'm exactly what you need." Sean blinked completely lost, but Illinois blurted out aloud. "Phantom." The speaker rippled with more radio static as a voice laughed out with glee. "You got me! I would have also settled for the 'Radio Demon' or the 'King of Diamonds.' Either way... You've been railroaded, Kid! Might as well sit back and relax. Because the fun is about to begin." The elevator stopped and Illinois shoved the door open, telling Sean in a rush. "We've got to find the others quickly!"

Sean ran after Illinois as doors to rooms slammed and locked on their own. Over the speakers in the hallway, Phantom playfully stated out. "Before we get into the nitty gritty... I'll make you a bonafide offer, Illinois. No strings attached. Hell, I'll let you off this crazy train. Just give me the Oyster." Illinois reached the door to leave the car, when Phantom stated out quickly. "What do you say, Illinois? This is a limited time offer. Do we have a deal?" Illinois reached back to take Sean's wrist, snapping out to the speakers. "Take your offer... and choke on it!" Over the speakers, Phantom's voice cooed out a little wickedly. "Oh, well. Can't blame a guy for trying. I've just got one more thing left to say to you... Run rabbit run." Laughter broke out over the speakers and Illinois pulled Sean into the next train car. Running through the train cars, Sean panted out. "What are we going to do?!" Illinois scoffed, nervously blurting out. "I don't know. I'm making this up as I go!" Reaching a train car that was designed like a city street with a glass ceiling to reveal the real sky, Illinois skidded to a stop amongst the crowd of people moving from building to building without a care.

Sean bumped into Illinois's back, asking startled and breathless. "What is it?" Peeking over Illinois's shoulder, Sean stared in disbelief at a man dressed in a lavender suit with clean bright white gloves. His dark hair was slicked back with long bangs that were dyed white. From one of his open black gauges that were in his pierced ears, hung a single thin silver chain that glinted in the light with a set of red dice hanging from it. The man's dark brown eyes glinted a bright green when he smiled. Gasping, Illinois yanked Sean into a club on his right to get away from the man. Only to have the door slam and lock on its own. Hitting the door, Illinois cursed out. "FUCK!" Sean patted Illinois on the back to get him to turn around to face the club's interior. The club was bouncing with loud music and people dancing on the dance floor as colored lights moved around the room. In front of the stage, Wilford and Bandit were dancing and enjoying themselves without a care in the world. Sean started to move toward them, but Illinois stopped him. Sean followed his eyes instead to the stage where a man was singing.

On the stage, a man dressed in a black suit with a bright red dress shirt was singing into a cane with a small crystal ball on the end. The man's shadow mimicked his actions but looked so much different than him. The man's shadow was tall and lanky with what looked like massive gnarly buck antlers and a skeletal buck face. While singing, the man's eyes looked directly at them. His eyes glinted a bright fiery red before winking at them. Beside Sean, Illinois pulled him close and stated out over the music without looking away from the man on the stage. "We're in BIG trouble." To Be Continued...