WC: 1601 || Ship: Gopherhail (its vague but its there) || Rating: G

Concept: Mikhail, after the War of Independence, went missing, believed dead after some time. In reality, Gopher locked him away, not wanting to lose one of the few things he loved. When Gopher adopts Sunday and Robin, at the man's insistence, Mikhail visits them often under the guise of a babysitter. Because of this, Gopher's control/hold is a little less severe than it could have been. When the dust settles and Sunday is on the Express, the true identity of the babysitter that he and Robin had comes to light.

“Being on this train…it reminds me of him, you know?” Sunday looks up from his book, tilting his head at Robin’s question.

“...I have not thought about him in some time, I must admit. I don’t remember much of him, but I remember his kindness. That was…a rarity in those days, for me at least.” He stops himself from continuing. There is…not much that Robin knows, and he intends to keep it that way.

“Yes, he was very kind. Even went out of his way to bring us new audience members when he stopped by.” Ah yes, he remembers the plush toys that man would bring with him. More often than not, they were from the *Clockie* cartoon Gopher never let them watch, but sometimes they were cute animals.

(He remembers hiding under the man’s large coat, watching the newest episode of *Clockie*. He remembers the coat suddenly falling in front of his eyes. He remembers Gopher walking in, asking if the man had seen Sunday, citing he wasn’t in his normal places. He remembers the man *lying to Gopher*, saying that he had gone into the town to grab some bread. Bread that he knew was currently stashed in the oven that Gopher never even looked at. He remembers Gopher going silent, then taking a deep breath in through his nose, before sharply walking away. He remembers the man sighing, then laughing, before moving his coat back to where it had been before, so Sunday could watch the cartoon.)

Those, and the stories of the train that traveled the stars. Stories that the man always told in a hushed voice. Sunday had always assumed it was to build suspense, but looking back, he wonders if perhaps…there was more to it.

“I know it’s a long shot…but do you still have it?” He blinks to draw himself out of his thoughts, looking at Robin as she taps her fingers together.

“I do—it should be in my book.” With a wave of his hand, his book is falling into his lap. He carefully unlatches the golden clasp, opening the book gently to not let any of the loose inserts fall to the ground. “Here.”

He hands the photo to Robin without looking, caressing the page that the photo was with. There was nothing on the white paper, instead a small crumpled note was taped to it.

*‘Remember to have a good day, my Sun-shine! :)’*

A note from the man who was their babysitter. Who smiled so brightly, but Sunday knew it never reached his eyes. A man whose beard tickled when he lifted and hugged Sunday, proud of him for completing the assignment that he was given.

“Oh! Are we sharing baby photos?” He and Robin look up to see March 7th and Himeko, walking up to them with smiles on their faces. Robin shook her head, but smiled at the duo.

“Oh no, I don’t think we have many of those. This was a photo of us with our babysitter. We were just talking about him.” Robin hands the photo over to March, much to his chagrin. He was a private person, after all, and even if these were his new travel companions, he still doesn’t want a photo of him as a child going around.

“Oh…” He looks up to see Himeko looking at the photo with a hand over her mouth. “March…go grab Welt and Pom-Pom.”

“Himeko?”

“Now March. Please.” March 7th nods and runs off, leaving him to stare at her with a furrowed brow.

What was so important about that photo that would warrant the attention of Welt Yang and the Conductor?

He wants to take the photo back and put it in his book. It is his precious memory, why must they get involved?

He does not get the chance to do so, as Welt Yang and Pom-Pom are walking into the room. He can feel Welt’s eyes slide to him and he glances over to the man for a moment before he turns his attention to Pom-Pom, who is now looking up at Himeko.

“Pom-Pom is here! Now, what is more important than my cleaning?” Himeko, who he knows would normally smile, just looks at the conductor with a stern face and hands them the photo. Pom-Pom hums and holds it for a moment, before almost dropping it.

“That’s— That’s–!!!” Pom-Pom looks up at Himeko, who in turn looks to Welt. Welt takes a step forward to look at the photo, before his face clouds with emotion that is hard to read.

“That’s— *Impossible.*”

“That is what I thought.” Himeko turns to him and Robin, face worried. “Pardon me, but when was this photo taken?”

Robin, face twisted in concern, thinks for a moment. “When we were children, I want to say maybe two decades ago?”

“Two decades…” Welt Yang mutters, brow pulled deep in concentration. “But that doesn’t make sense… He has been reported deceased for…”

He’s had enough. Standing, he marches over to Pom-Pom and takes the photo back, placing it gently in his book and waving it away.

“Forgive my rudeness, but I do not like that you are all having some sort of conversation without informing Robin nor I of what is going on. Now, please fill us in.” Pom-Pom shuffles around a little bit, tugging on their ears. He does feel a little bad for upsetting the conductor, but he does not like being left out of something, especially when it involves him and more importantly, his sister.

“Pom-Pom is sorry. It’s just that…the man in the photo? He’s been dead for centuries. That’s Mikhail.”

Robin gasps behind him. “Mikhail? You do not mean Mikhail Char Legwork, do you?”

There is only one Mikhail that Sunday knew of that was connected to the Astral Express and that man—

—was considered the Father of Penacony.

“Yes.” It’s Welt Yang who answers, one hand smoothing over his brow. “He was a mechanic for the Express once, before he left and stayed on Penacony. But we heard he died a long long time ago. That’s why we were surprised to see him. He’s definitely older, though. And what’s more…we saw his body on Penacony before our battle with you. Sunday. That doesn’t—*Gallagher*.”

“Welt?” Himeko looks at the man, head tilted.

“Gallagher…he’s a Fictionologist, or at least connected to one. That would explain why I felt no Trailblaze from him…and why Caelus gained the Path of Harmony from him.” Pom-Pom tugs on their ears at Welt’s words, while Himeko’s expression grows more worried.

“We shouldn’t jump to that large of conclusions, Welt. But…”

“I know. I think we need to go back to Penacony. It…it would settle this matter.”

“Settle the matter of what?” He chimes in. So what if the Watchmaker that rests in Dreamflux Reef is a piece of fiction?

“The matter of if Mikhail is alive. Mikhail…Mikhail was from a time when Akivili was around. If he is alive, we have a duty as Nameless to find him. I know this is a lot to ask, but is it possible to visit your childhood home? That is where this photo is from, yes?”

“I…don’t know. I never went back when I moved out and only met with my f—with Gopher Wood in Dewlight Pavilion. I am not sure it is even still around.”

He wasn’t even sure if the house had existed before he and Robin had been taken in by Gopher Wood.

“If it is alright with you, I would like to try. Perhaps we can even ask Miss Black Swan to see if she can sense anything as well.” He is hesitant, but he nods. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see how Robin stares at him, concerned. He turns his head to smile in her direction, hoping to put her at ease.

“I have some stipulations about that, but nevertheless, I will lead you there.” He startles when Pom-Pom comes up to him, hugging his legs.

“I know that place was bad for you, but thank you.” He bites his lip and looks away.

Withdrawing from the conversation and the crew and Robin discussing plans, he sits back down and looks out the window of the Express. He…does he want to know if their babysitter, if the kind man with the warm laugh and sad eyes was truly Mikhail Char Legwork?

That the man that Gopher essentially kept trapped in their house was *the Father of Penacony, the savior of so many, a Nameless*?

(A voice not his own reprimands him for focusing on sad memories of the past. They do nothing but harm you and drag you down. He hates that the voice is right again.)

(But another voice, much louder and boisterous, reminds him that sad memories are a part of life. That one should embrace them and love them, so that they can make more happier ones to honor the sad moments of life.)

So he watches the stars outside and thinks back on both sad and happy moments, waving to Robin when she looks back at him with a worried expression. He does not know if he will take the journey back to that house, does not know if he can, but he will not stop Robin if she wishes to find the answers.
.
.
.

*He wonders if the old tape player still has the recorded tape of Clockie on it. He wonders if Robin will get it for him. He never got to watch it.*

*If he recalls correctly, it was the season finale of the first season of Clockie.*