Chapter Text
Bright lights flash Juno's eyes as he takes the hand of the chauffeur, who helps him hop up into the carriage. It’s the last night before his brother, Grandduke Benzaiten, leaves for Hyperion City for some reason that Juno can’t see the importance of. It’s quiet inside the carriage, the heavy weight of their eventual separation hanging in the air, but outside, New Kinshasa is brimming with excitement. Juno’s dealt with paparazzi all 8 years of his life, but tonight, what he wants to do is spend time with his brother. Juno looks over to Benten, who is looking out the window. Maybe if Juno thinks it hard enough, he can convince Benten to stay.
The ball is huge, some thousands of people talking and dancing and doing whatever else they like to do at balls. Juno is leaning on the end of the snack table, munching on one of the crabcakes and watching some kitchen boy steal a few creds out of a noble's pocket. He catches Juno’s eye, and brings a finger up to his lips. Juno laughs, makes a didn't see anything motion, and finishes his crabcake. When he looks back up, the boy is gone.
Juno dusts his hand off on the skirt of his dress, and walks around the edge of the crowd. When he looks to the front of the room, he can see his mother on her throne, conversing with someone who seems to be carrying the conversation a lot more than she is. In the opposite edge of the room, Benten is dancing with Mick, the son of a nobleman and a friend of theirs, but it's about time Juno went and talked to him. Juno declines a few requests to dance, and stands a few feet away from Mick and Ben. Mick notices him standing there, waves to Juno and says his goodbye to Benten.
“Juno, I have something for you. I made it a few days ago so while I’m gone this week, you can still kind of have me here.” Benten pulls out a round object from his pocket, with legs so it can stand up on a table.
“A jewelry box?” Juno asks, but Benten is busy messing with the back of the object. He smiles, and the lid of the box opens, showing two people dancing. “It plays our lullaby!”
Juno grabs Benten's hand while he laughs, and they sway along to the music.
“On the wind, ‘cross the sea, sing this song and remember,” They quietly sing along with the box, “Soon you’ll be home with me, once upon a December.”
Juno and Benten grin at each other, and he hands the box to Juno. He then pulls out a necklace, and gives it to Juno.
Juno holds the pendant close to his face, and reads the inscription, “Together in Hyperion,” He pulls the necklace over his head and onto his neck, “Thank you Benten!”
Juno pulls them into a hug and Benten covers this laughter with his hand, “You’re welcome Juno, now we’ll be together no matter where either of us go!”
Juno releases Benten, then looks to the front of the room, where Sarah was dancing with one of the Counts. Juno grabs Benten's wrist and they push past the people in the crowd to show her.
“Ma, Ma, look what Ben made me!” Juno says, holding up the box with one hand and the pendant with another.
Sarah lets go of the Count, and holds her hand out for the jewelry box. Juno places it in her hand, and she brings it up to eye level to look at it.
“Benzaiten, this is beautiful,” Benten reaches his hands out, and she lowers the box down. Benten turns the lever on the back of the box, then lets go of it. “And it plays music, my little monster, this is wonderful.”
Tension settles in the air around them, as the sound of a cane tapping the ground travels through the air. People freeze and move away to make way for a man that Juno just barely remembers, someone he can’t put his finger on. The crowd whispered as he made his way towards them, with a smile unsettling and too big for the situation. Sarah steps forward as the twins move closer together.
“Jack, how dare you return to this palace?” Juno began to remember the man who made such an impact on his life, Jack Takano, but the person in front of them looked nothing like how Juno remembered Jack. His skin was gaunt and grey, and he walked on shaky legs.
“Sarah, I was your confidant. You never would have come this far without me, and you know it. This is for the greater good.” Jack raises his arms in big, exaggerated movements, motioning to the palace around them, the throne, the twins.
“You aren’t my confidant, and you are not welcome here. Get out!” Sarah says, with the power of a leader.
“You underestimate the powers within me! I banish you, with a curse!” Sarah freezes, and the twins crowd closer to each other, “Mark my words, your family will die within the fortnight! New Kinshasa will see the end of Sarah Steel’s poor rule! I will not rest until I’ve seen the end of the Steels!”
The gates open, and with them came a mob of people, holding torches to storm the castle. Juno and Benten run to Sarah, who crouches down to their level.
“Go, leave the castle, and don’t look back!” Juno tries to say something, but she shakes her head, “Go! I love you my little monsters, but now you need to leave!”
She pushes them in with the escaping crowd and goes to find Jack. Juno and Benten run, but Juno realizes his hand is empty and stops.
“My music box!” Juno says as he runs back into the palace.
“Juno!” Benten calls after him, then he runs back with him, “Juno! Come back!”
They run into a room and Juno is grabbing the music box while Ben closes and locks the door. Benten grabs Juno's arm and is about to run back out, but they can hear the mob coming to the door.
Then a boy, the kitchen boy from earlier grabs Benten's sleeve.
“Come on, this way! Out the servant's quarters!” He leads them through a door in the wall.
“Hurry Juno, they’re coming!” Benten yells.
Juno pokes his head back out from the wall, “My music box!” The boy turns to look at Juno, and he notices the tape on the side of the boy's oversized glasses as he pushes Juno back.
“Go, go!” The boy yells before he closes and locks the hatch to the door.
He uses his body to cover the door in the wall as people knock down the door.
“Where are they, boy?” He grabs a vase from a nearby table and throws it at the man, who uses his gun to knock it away, then knock down the boy.
Juno and Benten run past a bridge, on a river iced over from the cold weather. Jack comes down from the bridge and takes Juno by the back of his jacket.
“Juno!” Benten yells, holding onto Juno’s arm.
“Let me go!” Juno yells, yanking himself away from Jack.
“You will never escape me!” Jack pulls Juno back as the ice begins to crack underneath him. Jack lets go of Juno while he tries to claw his way back up from the water, but it pulls him down and down and down, until when Juno looks back, Jack is gone with only a hole in the ice for his struggle.
Juno and Benten push past the crowd at the side of the train tracks. Benten gets on, then turns to help Juno up. But the train is going fast, and Juno’s small legs can barely keep up.
“Juno, take my hand! Hold onto my hand!” He clutches Benten's hand, holding on as hard as he can.
“Don’t let go!” Juno runs with the train, but his hand is slipping and he can only run for so long. His legs start to give out and his hand falls from Ben’s grip. He yells, but the train is already leaving.
“Juno! JUNO!” Benten yells, but the train is so far away and Juno can’t get to him in time.
“BENZAITEN!” Juno shouts before his head hits the concrete and his vision goes black.