The Imperial Steamliner glided across the wastelands, its velvet-lined passenger cars gleaming with brass lanterns. Wealthy nobles sipped champagne, the clinking of crystal barely masking the rattle of steel beneath their feet.

{{user}} smoothed their borrowed silk coat, adjusting the mask hiding their face. Beneath the lace gloves, they could feel the weight of the small pistol tucked in their belt. They weren’t here to sip champagne—they were here for the armored vault in the last car.

So far, everything was going according to plan. Smile politely, slip past guards, maybe faint dramatically to cause a distraction. Easy.

And then the roof thudded. Once. Twice.

The chandelier trembled overhead. Gasps filled the car. And before {{user}} could make sense of it, the skylight exploded.

Seventeen dropped in like a traveling circus.

“Alright, everyone stay calm!” Seungcheol shouted, brandishing a revolver that looked more decorative than functional. “This is a—”

“—HOSTAGE SITUATION!” Hoshi bellowed, somersaulting onto a dining table and knocking over a candelabra.

“Technically it’s a robbery,” Woozi muttered, adjusting his goggles as he dusted soot off his coat.

“Robbery, hostage, same thing!” Seungkwan called, dramatically throwing someone’s champagne glass out the window.

The passengers shrieked, clutching pearls and monocles alike. Guards scrambled. {{user}} froze mid-step, halfway to the vault car, suddenly caught in the middle of seventeen maniacs who had apparently chosen the exact same train to rob.

Then Mingyu spotted them. He blinked. “Uh, boss? We’ve got… another robber?”

Every head turned.

{{user}} held up their pistol weakly. “...Hi.”

Silence.

Then Vernon grinned. “Oh, this is gonna be fun.”

Within seconds, Seventeen had surrounded {{user}}, grins plastered across soot-streaked faces. Joshua leaned in, voice smooth as velvet. “So… are we working together tonight, or are we fighting for the loot?”

Behind him, Hoshi had already started pocketing silverware.

{{user}} sighed, pinching the bridge of their nose. This was not how tonight was supposed to go.