Phone You Told Me So

[Tanaka Gokiburi]

Directly following Midnight Train Going Anywhere

Goki had not disbelieved Mina's story about the hydra in the subway. He just didn't believe it would happen to him. She was the one with a fury riding shotgun in her brain, after all. What was he to the denizens of the Underworld?

It seemed they were not picky with their targets. If that was what this was.

Once he was home, in the quiet, where he could hear himself think, he checked his phone. It was still a little wet, and the preview from Mina's text was still there.

He opened up his messages to reply. Several hours late, with an apology. That, however, did not seem sufficient with the experience weighing on his mind, so he called.

"Incoming call..."

[Mina Straus]

Mina wasn’t even supposed to be here tonight, but someone called out. She was an hour from closing when her phone rumbled in her back pocket. It was long and continuous vibration of an incoming call. The Honey & Ivy was having a slow night and apart from the usual suspects, the place was quiet as the dead. It happened every now and again. So, when Mina pulled her phone and saw the caller, her brows raised over exhausted eyes.

A sly grin washed over her lips, but more tired than anything. Was this the booty call she dreamt about? Mina gave the bar a parting glance and slipped into an alcove with her phone. When she answered, the low din of music from the bar crowded the line.

"Hey…"

[Tanaka Gokiburi]

Catching the sounds of the bar as Mina answered, Goki huffed out a self-deprecating sigh. Was she at work? She didn’t have time to hear about his mild existential crisis while he was at work! What should he say? What was there to say-

"Hey. It happened. That- that whole thing you told me about."

His voice was a tired slur and then he dropped his forehead into his hand. Goki hoped it was a quiet night at least, if he couldn’t stop himself from dropping the whole thing on Mina.

[Mina Straus]

The slurred rush of words slicked her ear like oil. There they wormed deeper into her ear canal, down her spine, to pool heavily in her gut. Perplexed by what it was, Mina shook her head to clear the fog, only knowing none of this was good. She frowned and angled her back to the bar, creating a pitiful bulwark and allowing some semblance of privacy.

"What happened? What are you talking about—"

Truth gurgled up from the pool sitting heavy in her gut. It frothed up her windpipe to choke her off mid-speech. Mina stilled. She felt light headed and sloshed her weight against the wall. There was only one thing she told him about recently; the subway.

When Mina spoke next there was a tight vibration of worry in her tone.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

[Tanaka Gokiburi]

Goki had started the call feeling pitiable, ready to dump all his problems on Mina's head, but the second he heard that sweet concern in her voice, he felt a rush of self-consciousness. It would be selfish of him not to be at least somewhat stoic about the whole thing, which went along with his swift need to comfort her. He straightened where he was sitting on the bed.

"No- Sorry, yeah, I'm okay. I'm alright. Just tired. I- uh. I took the subway back from Newton tonight. That thing you talked about, with the hydra. We didn't meet a hydra, but the train took us somewhere underground-"

He cut himself off with a tired laugh.

"I mean, Underworld underground."

[Mina Straus]

Mina deflated, sagging with relief in her alcove behind the bar when Goki said he was okay, alright, just tired; a sentiment she associated with. She listened to him with unease tapdancing across her nerves. Her relief and unease coalesced into tepid anger. Her lips pressed thin and she closed her eyes against the brewing emotion. After everything she told him; he’d taken the subway. It was a stupid move, dangerous and stupid, but he was alright… just tired.

This was all her fault. She blamed herself for not putting the fear of Hades into him. It was nothing more than a story… Trains to Hell were something that happened to other people.

"I’m glad you made it out."

Was all Mina said, her voice wound tight and brittle, another half-twist would have splintered it. But Goki was okay and she focused on that. Mina’s anger wavered and floundered, sputtering back to relief with a heavy sigh.

"Where are you now?"

[Tanaka Gokiburi]

He could hear that Mina was bothered by the quality of her voice. The why escaped him, but she didn't push it. He smiled tiredly, seeing an opportunity for mischief.

"Oh, I didn't say I made it out."

His grin was clear in his voice.

"I'm calling you riverside. There's this big glowing palace in the distance."

[Mina Straus]

Goki said he hadn't managed to get out, and the pit of her stomach fell away. She felt weak at the knees and was glad for the wall at her side, because she pressed herself into it now. Mina made a feeble sound, almost a whimper, and took the phone from her ear to stare at the screen, almost expecting to see a 666 area code. Was she about to descend into the underworld to rescue her Euridice? Only she knew not to look back until they reached the light.

She placed the phone against her ear in time to catch that fucking smile in Goki’s voice. He went on about some glowing palace, and Mina shook her head, relief tingling through her. It left her shaky, or that could have just been the exhaustion. If he was good enough to joke, he was fine… or ignorant of the danger. Or had this all been a joke? Something in his voice earlier made her doubt that, but now she was questioning it.

"I’m going to kill you."

She returned with a smile in her voice, though more strained than his.

[Tanaka Gokiburi]

Mina didn't sound as mad or particularly amused, but Goki didn't sweat it. He was just glad to break the tension. His grin widened at her threat, a knot loosening in his chest. He laughed gently, his tired voice slightly cajoling as he had fun with it.

"No, don't do that. I just escaped the Underworld."

[Mina Straus]

"Don’t laugh. This isn’t funny, Goki. Where are you now?"

Mina chided, but her heart wasn’t in it. It was just joyful to hear the tension break and to hear him laugh, even if he didn’t understand how close he came. If his encounter was anything like hers, Goki was lucky to have made it out. She looked over her shoulder at the bar, seeing how much longer she could talk.

[Tanaka Gokiburi]

His grin remained, and despite everything, a happy feeling bloomed in his chest. The man relented and answered at last. He sat up and then dropped his achy body back on the bed. He sighed gustily.

"I made it home... It was really something, Mina. No hydras, though."

[Mina Straus]

The lack of hydras was a comfort, but that was far from the worst that the Underworld had to offer. Mina knew that firsthand.

"Tell me."

[Tanaka Gokiburi]

Staring up at his ceiling, he paused, chewing his lip. Goki was not good with words and the experience had been... beyond description. He patted his belly and it made a thumping sound.

"Well, like..."

He dithered, humming in thought, and trying to remember how Mina had told the story. Much better than he was able to, that was for sure.

"So, we got on the train, right? I kinda had a bad feeling about it, and then like- A vision. But the train was already moving by then. It went into the tunnel, and then a few minutes later... Trees. Like... the tall thin ones like in the Hercules movie."

[Mina Straus]

"Cypress trees."

Mina said absently at Goki’s explanation, already forming a picture in her mind. She tried to place where he could have been.

"What else do you remember?"

[Tanaka Gokiburi]

"Yeah."

Goki agreed without knowing if Mina was correct. She just sounded so confident that he went with it. He made a contemplative noise as she pressed for more.

"Flowers- Flower petals. Drifting down on the water. It was actually really... nice? In a very scary way."

[Mina Straus]

The cypress trees should have been the obvious clue where Goki had been. The mention of flower petals on the water made Mina murmur. That was Lethe’s river. He had been close to the fields. Where before she’d cradled against the wall in that little alcove, protective of their conversation, now she stood upright.

"Did you drink?"

[Tanaka Gokiburi]

Goki sat up at that question, puffing up with pride. Pride had no right to, when he'd stumbled into the situation in the first place. His undirected mantic power and his sheer dumb luck had saved him from ruin.

"Actually- That featured in my vision. I saw myself drinking and then wandering into the field of white flowers and staying there for- forever."

He swallowed, the sheer enormity of the bullet he'd dodged making his mouth dry. But he pressed on.

"I didn't, though. I wanted to- Actually, we all did. Me and the other passengers- Max was there. But we didn't. At least- Our car didn't."

[Mina Straus]

Max was there, too. She’d yet to meet Goki’s roommate, but she heard a few bits and pieces about the man.

"That’s the Lethe."

Mina spoke as if far off, as if remembering something she heard in high school. And as she spoke, an odd distortion rose in the static, as if gentle waves lapped against a shore. Mina didn’t seem to notice.

"When you die and are taken there, drinking the waters helps you forget your earthly life. It’s easier on them. Just blissful oblivion. If you had drank…"

She stopped herself there and went quiet.

[Tanaka Gokiburi]

Goki was quiet as well. Blissful oblivion. That seemed in line with his vision and the temptations of the water. The confirmation, however, put a pit in his stomach. After all, it wasn't just mythology anymore. He'd lived it.

He cleared his throat and cracked the silence after a few heartbeats.

"Well. Not as bad as a hydra at least."

His tone was of a man trying to make light of the whole thing. He didn't know any other way to process it.

[Mina Straus]

"Yeah…"

Mina said after a moment of silence herself; the word distantly morose, agreeing and not agreeing. It wasn’t as terrifying as a hydra, but worse in some ways. Blissful oblivion. Forgetting everything you were and everything you would be. Drifting away like that was a walking death, especially for those not meant for those shores.

"But you’re back."

She picked herself up, choosing not to dwell on what could have been.

[Tanaka Gokiburi]

"Sheer dumb luck."

He answered quickly, offering this explanation up with a short laugh.

"In fact, I uh- I got service down there. I got your text… It sorta… reminded me. I guess."

[Mina Straus]

Mina huffed a laugh. She remembered the lighthouse, sheer dumb luck seemed Goki’s thing. It was good to hear him laugh as well. This was a very odd phone call, and one she never expected to have. Maybe this was the shock talking, but they both just seemed relieved to hear each other’s voices. Mina was about to make some dumb joke about Goki’s dumb luck when he continued. That left her speechless and very warm. She had been his anchor to the real world. It was almost like he came back for her.

"Happy to help you remember."