"Klyde… wh…" Tulip stuttered, "what are you doing here?"

The gecko sheriff stood there in the darkness of the cavern with One-One's glow barely lighting up his cold sharp face. He stared at her with his serious dead eyes, unrelenting, unyielding. The air around him somehow felt different, he wasn't as friendly as he was back in his train car anymore. But he didn't really feel like a villain either.

But then again…

The concept of villainy was after all only relative.

"Tulip…" the gecko said, "it's been a while… Atticus, One-One, good to see you're still doing fine."

The gecko then glanced up to the robot standing behind Tulip, scanning up and down briefly before ending with a long remorseful sigh.

"Doctor…" he said, "I see you're still here."

Tulip gazed back to where Dee stood, only now seeing the pixelated fear on the face of the woman on-screen. It was as if the woman was paralyzed from pure shock alone, shackled in her place to the point her jaw refused to move.

"You still haven't answered my question, Klyde," Tulip pointed her finger towards the sheriff. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't get worked up over this, Tulip," said Klyde. "I'm here to help you, okay?"

"What?"

"You don't know what's out there looking for you, Tulip. It's chaos outside, honestly the Phantom People should be the least of your concerns. I'm here to get you to the next train car, I know of a secret passage that you can use to avoid those abominations. So come on, we haven't got much time."

But Tulip stood there silent, staring straight ahead with a pair deadly glares, unblinking. She quickly grabbed One-One off the ground and held the light close to her chest. Ready to defend herself.

Klyde looked back into the darkness, confused and mildly irritated:

"What are you doing? Didn't you guys hear what I said? It's time to go."

But Tulip merely held One-One up, illuminating the entire cave.

"You didn't answer my question," she continued to stare at the confused gecko with her determined eyes shining behind her round glasses, beneath that stare was a fire burning furiously like black coal.

The girl sighed and said:

"I… I met these birds a few train cars back, they called themselves the K-brothers. They told me about you."

Klyde adjusted the collar on his duster, then proceeded to straighten out his cowboy hat, bringing the brim down just enough to cover his forehead, just short of covering his intense glare that had not once left the girl and the robot standing behind her.

"They called you many things," she said. "A liar was one of them… so… Klyde 'the Viper' Bradshaw, allow me to ask you one very simple question," the girl held up One-One even closer to Klyde, shining the blinding light onto him, "who are you?"

The gecko gave another long sigh in the silence of the cave. He took down his cowboy hat, began scratching his head and strangely enough stopped looking at Tulip with his terrifying pair of reptilian eyes. Tulip suddenly noticed that he wasn't averting his eyes elsewhere out of guilt or fear – but instead out of sadness. Pure sorrow, as if lamenting over a tragedy in the past.

He placed his hat back on his head, adjusting it accordingly.

"You know, for the longest time I thought I'd be the last person to ever set foot into this cave," he told her in a grim tone. "But evidently I was wrong."

He then turned to face the carvings on the wall, feeling the rough textures on its surface with his scaly fingers, rubbing it to and fro as if expecting a response.

"You're looking for a way to get off the train, right?" Klyde asked, "I once told you that all of this is too big for you to handle. I haven't changed my mind since. To get off the train you would need to get to the front car, which is physically impossible. Because only one person on this entire train is capable of doing such a thing. I once said that the Conductor is a dangerous man – and he still is. There is nothing more terrifying than something you know nothing about. And nobody on this entire blasted train knows anything about the Conductor."

"Nobody?" Tulip raised an eyebrow, "Is that a fact?"

"Well, not entirely you see. I'm one of the few who do."

"Really now?" Tulip pressed on, "Then, pray tell, who is this person standing before me? Answer me honestly Klyde."

"Tulip, I'm still the same ol' sheriff you met back in that town. I wish I could help you more, I really do. But the thing about that is this train makes it so that I am physically incapable of telling you anything about the Conductor other than vague generalization that may or may not be true."

"What the…"

"The truth about the Conductor is something that only you can find out for yourself, Tulip," said Klyde. "I cannot help you, as much as I want to."

"How do I know you're not lying?" Tulip asked.

Klyde responded with a simple shrug:

"I guess you don't. You'll just have to take my word for it. I've faced the Conductor numerous times before so allow me to repeat myself – the Conductor is a dangerous man. I have firsthand experience… and so does she."

Tulip turned around to where Klyde pointed his finger – directly at the woman in the robot body, still trembling in shock.

"May we meet again, Tulip, perhaps in a more pleasant place… goodbye… Doc…"

And just like that, the gecko disappeared beyond the darkness of the cavern, as if he was never here to begin with. No trace, no footprints. It honestly felt a bit surreal, and yet Tulip had finally begun to understand why so many of the geckos spoke so highly of him, why many considered him a legend around these parts. That was the reason why it felt so strange and unreal, because it felt as if she was part of the legend itself.

The girl quickly rushed right towards the entrance of the cave where they first came in, disregarding everything behind her, even forgetting she was holding One-One in her arms.

"Tulip!" Atticus yelled behind her, "Where are you going?"

The girl did not respond, but instead forced her way through the dark rubble that was falling all over her green jacket. She did not mind the debris blinding her glasses, because all she saw was the light outside shining from far beyond.

Once outside, the girl was immobilized by a mixture of pure shock and intrigue. Not that she hadn't gotten used to being surprised, it was just that from this moment onwards, she was more fascinated than annoyed.

Klyde was soaring through the air, bouncing off any of the frogs his feet could touch, using them as a pad to launch himself even further upward.

He was fighting off the tentacles from the robot monster – with his bare fists no less!

Some people would call him an idiot for ignoring the pair of revolvers still dangling by his thighs. Why would he not use his guns? They'd ask, why would he just use his fists? They'd say. But who were they to argue when Klyde was strong enough to rip one of the monster's mechanical tentacles right off without even breaking a sweat? Like a child tearing a little twig off a tree branch. His scaly fingers were clutching at the metal tentacle pipe with so much force that the claw marks were still visible when he threw the thing to the side.

As far as Tulip was concerned, there were two monsters fighting in this car, and Klyde was the bigger one of the two. The way the gecko just viciously hissed at the emotionless white face lit up by the blue fire just made it even scarier. Like two mindless predators fighting for territory, wild and uncontrollable.

"Tulip!" Dee reached out to her and pulled her back into the cave, "Come now child, you don't want to be involved with all that. It's dangerous."

The battle outside raged on, obviously. With Klyde taking on both the monster and the confused frogs all running around swinging their blades.

"What on earth is he doing over there?" Tulip wondered, "It makes no sense. Why is he doing all this?"

"Maybe to buy time for us to escape?" Atticus suggested.

"Hmm… yeah," Tulip said. "Maybe there's something in my backpack that can help us, maybe something in my notes or… wait… what the…"

"What is it Miss Tulip?"

"My number…" she gasped, "oh my god… it… it changed… it changed again! It used to be 47. But now it's 45."

"What, really?" Dee cried, with a mix of excitement and insanity, "Let me see, let me see, let me see. Hmm… curious isn't it? Did it change when we first entered this cave?"

"Um… no, not that I remember."

"That's it then," Dee exclaimed, "that must mean that the number changed while we were within the cavern. There's no other explanation."

"Right, that's what I'm thinking, too. But why in the cave?" Tulip wondered, "What exactly was the trigger? Wait a minute, did your number change as well, Dee?"

The woman quickly glanced down her palm, only to be met with disappointment.

"No, sadly… no."

"Maybe…" Tulip began muttering to herself, "that must be… it has to be."

"What?" Glad-One asked, "What is it? What did you find, Miss Tulip?"

"Klyde."

"Huh?"

"It has to be him," Tulip said. "It's somehow connected, I'm sure of it. He must've been what caused the number to change. But how? There's a missing variable in here somewhere, I just need to figure out what it is."

"Well, you better figure it out quick," Sad-One said.

"What? Why?"

"Behold," the little robot said, pointing to a place beyond the forest, "Phantom People."

"WHAT?"

A quick glance over the cave entrance and Tulip had already caught sight of a wall of blue fire raging beyond in the distant forest. She first thought there was something on her glasses and she was just seeing things, but no – this was reality.

The fire crept towards the grass where the battle was still going on, each patch of grass devoured into the throat of the fire meant one step closer to burning all the green growing from this earth. The fire burnt so fiercely the leaves on the trees refused to fall in fear of getting consumed by the hell beneath. A hell that roared in front of the shadows of the ghosts, the Phantoms. The fire lit up brighter than a ruby melting in the summer sun, and yet the Phantoms inside left behind shadows darker than the sharp cold winter's night. A cold, cruel, blue fire.

But even then…

Deep in the throats of the flame was another shadow, or was it a blob? Tulip wasn't entirely sure. It was just… a shape, barely recognizable and hardly human. Yet just a single glance at this blob instantly reminded the girl of what Klyde told her:

The Conductor is a dangerous man.

Run! Don't even look back.

Don't fight him.

Whatever you do…

"Do not try to outsmart him…" she whispered.

"What?"

Tulip paused for a brief moment, as if stunned.

"Oh… um, it's… it's nothing. We should get out of here. Klyde's buying us time. If we plan our courses right we might be able to find the door in time… at least before this fire swallow us whole."

"Right," Dee agreed. "I've already had my scanners at work, trying to map out the best possible route."

"That's great," Tulip grinned, just a little, "you lead the way."

The girl had expected to wait for at least a couple minutes, but no – apparently Dee's scanning device was much more advanced than she first thought. A much more accurate explanation seemed to be that Dee had only scanned for useful information, only mapping out a small portion of the train car instead of trying to study the entire area to save time. Either way, the device did its job.

"Let's go."


Tulip and her crew crept through the bushes and the trees like slithering snakes, tiptoeing through the grass inch by inch, hoping the Phantom People would not catch them in their sight. They were lucky that the Phantoms had only managed to burn a few small areas, and this part of the wood was not one of them.

"Hmm…" Dee paused briefly to check her scanners, "this way."

"Is this what it feels like to have my life flash before my eyes?" Glad-One asked naively.

"No," Tulip responded, "that's just the flash of the fire."

"Oh…"

"We must push on forward," Atticus said. "We mustn't fall to our fatigue. Onward… to victory."

"Let's save our celebration after we've escaped this place," Dee said. "Alright, let's make a turn over here. There's a large boulder blocking the way between us and the fire. It should buy us a little more time to get out."

"What would we do without you, Dee?" Tulip managed a weak laugh.

"Now hold your horses now," the good doctor announced out of nowhere, "I'm picking up an unusual heat signature coming from over there."

"Is that bad?"

"Not entirely sure," Dee said. "It's a strong signature. Doesn't seem like it's coming from the forest fire, though."

"That doesn't make any sense," Tulip shook her head.

"Oh… it's… getting stronger," Dee noted, her voice had gotten somewhat weaker, hard to notice at first, but it became a lot easier once she started widening her eyes in fear, "no… not possible…"

"What? What's the matter Dee?"

"Yes, tell us," Glad-One said, "I'm just dying to know here."

"Dear lord… it… it's sitting at ten thousand degrees Celsius."

"WHAT? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?" Tulip shrieked.

"It's… it's coming…"

And there over the sight of the forest's canopy, beyond deep inside the shadows of the frantic blue fire – hid a creature that was growing in size at such a rapid rate that it will soon grow to be at least three stories tall. It was gargantuan, and terrifying. Never had Tulip witnessed such terror in her eyes. Not even her thick round glasses could shelter her sight from what was to come.

A roar that speared the heavens.

There the clouds above ran in fear of the sound of this horrifying… thing.

On the side the trees began leaving the world of the living, either consumed by the scorching flames or torn apart by the fierce untamable hurricane.

Its claws clutched the dry soil.

Its breath full of hellish heat.

Its wings breathed icy winds.

Look upon it – a monstrous dragon.

Possessing eight frightening heads. Each more cruel than the last.

Look at it! Look at this magnificent creature, lord of the sky. Gaze upon its metal scales shining like armor with a radiant green glint. Look at the beast's bulky black claws penetrating the earth it walked on. And there, look, look and one could see its devilish yellow eyes on each head staring with vicious hunger, hunger and desire to fill up its bottomless belly. The eyes never blinked, for everything the monster saw in its eyes were hatred for life, seeing that all living things before it needed to be snuffed out. The creature only knew how to live in hate. There was no calm wind under the creature's wings, only violent and hateful tornadoes.

"Oh my god…"

"Wow, what a pretty chameleon," cheered Glad-One.

"Quit it!" Tulip cried, "We have to get out of here, NOW! Dee, please tell me you've located the door."

"I'm sorry Tulip. It's just kind of hard to do so with the forest fire all around."

"Drats!"

"Careful now," Sad-One said, "the Phantoms… I can hear them nearby."

"Ugh, fantastic. Quickly now, we've got to hide."

They all managed to rush behind one of the still fresh bushes of the forest. The Phantoms came quicker than expected. Raising their palms engulfed in blue flame, ready to fire at anything that may pop out unexpectedly. The look on their faces were horrific, blank empty eyes filled with no emotion, only a burning desire to follow orders.

"Well, it's been nice knowing you all," Sad-One commented.

"We're not dead yet," Tulip whispered, "Dee, what's the status? How long before you find the door?"

"Not sure," Dee said, browsing through a crowded computer screen full of data. "This is a pretty large train car. It'll take me approximately another seven minutes, but that number may change."

"That might be too long. We won't have enough time. Argh, think Tulip," the girl banged her head with her fist, "what's the best way to get out of this mess?"

"Tulip," Atticus nudged her feet.

"Not now, Atticus. I'm thinking… maybe we can find a hill somewhere, chop down a tree then roll it down those Phantoms. Nah… that'll take too long. That won't work."

"Tulip."

"Please, not now Atticus… maybe if we wait it out long enough they'll just go away… no, no, what am I thinking? That'll never work. Those robots are too smart. Maybe… maybe…"

"Tulip."

"WHAT, Atticus? I told you, stop bothering me. I'm busy thinking here."

"No, Tulip… listen."

"I don't have time for this right now…"

"BY HEAVENS, LISTEN TO ME TULIP!"

It silenced her in an instant. The girl's frustration and anger was immediately replaced by confusion. She didn't understand the grim look on the corgi's face. It was serious, but not in the comical way.

The sad thing was, Tulip had only just now realized that Atticus had never meant to come off as comical or silly. It was all sincere, no matter how ridiculous or camp the way he talked may seem.

The corgi was honest, and this was no different.

"There's a saying in my kingdom… 'give a puppy a day and he'll survive until tomorrow, give a dog a week and he'll build a house on the cliff, but give a wolf a year and he'll become the king of all the lands'. Quite a straightforward phrase but it keeps us corgis motivated, gives us courage, gives us the strength to fight on for another day."

"What are you saying?" Tulip asked.

Atticus grinned:

"The truth is… I am no king. I have no official authority over my land. I was never chosen for my leadership prowess. Honestly I wonder every day as to why it is that I haven't been replaced yet. Just look at me, here I am, countless miles away from my kingdom, leaving it in the paws of another. Some king I am… I'm no king… because I'm only a dog."

Tulip shook her head in confusion, but Atticus continued:

"But you, Tulip the Literate, you are not a dog. Far from it. I can see it in your eyes, the determination and spirit… they're stronger than any warrior I've ever met. You… you are the wolf in this story, destined to be king. I am merely a dog. I'll just be a burden to you."

And that had Tulip's eyes shot wide open, but Atticus did not stop:

"I am too weak. I don't have what it takes to fight this Conductor character, but you do. All I can do now… is give you another day to live."

"Atticus… no… no!"

"I can only pray that you'll turn that day into weeks, months, and eventually – a year. Just promise me this Tulip."

"Atticus, stop talking. You're exhausted, you… you don't know what you're talking about. Stop!" Tulip cried.

"Just promise me," Atticus grinned, "that you'll become the king of all the lands, beating the Conductor, and in the end uncovering the truth about everything."

"No, stop!"

"May we meet again in another life… and who knows, perhaps you will finally have a chance to tell me your story. How you got here, and how you met this small fellow here."

"STOP!"

"Goodbye… Tulip… it has been a pleasure."

Just like that, as if no other moment in the entire history of mankind mattered more than this. Everything slowed to a halt. Tulip sat there looking at the brave little corgi as he turned his back on his crew… his friends and dashed straight out of the bush into the middle of the field full of fire and Phantoms.

And from afar, they could hear a faint triumphant battle cry:

"Hail to Corgidia…"

Tulip stared out into the scene while on her knees, stunned and angry… angry at herself for not stopping Atticus from charging into that madness. Tulip could no longer see the blue demonic fire burning the trees, nor could she see the eight headed dragon roaring in rage. Everything was white, blank like a canvas.

And in the middle of that canvas was Atticus, like a small black spot getting smaller as the distance between them grew. A tiny speck compared to the massive dragon. But Tulip couldn't see the dragon on the canvas. Because she had finally understood now that true strength did not come from size or power, but instead from the courage to take that step and risk it all in the name of good.

He risked it all, his kingdom, his people, his life… just so Tulip could live another day.

"Atticus… no…" Tulip muttered as tears began rolling down her cheeks, "come back… please… don't… don't leave us."

"Oh my goodness," Dee's scanner started ringing, "it's picking up something. Let's see here. There – over there! Located at a bearing of 45 degrees from this spot, meaning northeast from here. Approximately 87 meters in distance."

"Tulip!" One-One called, "It's time to go. We found our door."

"Atticus… please…"

Sad-One gave a long sigh:

"Dee Arr, grab Tulip and get out of here. We're going to perish if we don't."

"That doesn't sound like a prospect I'm willing to entertain," said Dee.

The robot woman turned to the girl who was still stunned from shock, grabbed her by the waist with her big mechanical arms and hoisted the girl up onto her shoulder.

"What the… DEE LET ME GO!" Tulip struggled in Dee's grasps, trying to pry her thick rubber arm off. "Let me down Dee, I… I have to go back! I have to save him. I have to save Atticus!"

"It's too late for that now Tulip," One-One said.

"No!" She shouted, "I can still make it. I can make it, damn it! LET ME GO! I… I can…"

"Tulip," Sad-One deepened his voice, now even more serious, "it's time to go."

The tears did not stop. It kept flowing out of her eyes, mixed in with a bit of sweat splashing onto her glasses. It was hard to see, but she could still barely make out a small speck in the distance. Atticus was still out there, she just knew it. The dog sped off beyond the forest with the Phantoms following him. He did not hesitate to jump straight into the raging fire. It swallowed him whole, along with the countless Phantoms tailing right behind him. People would say it was an impossible feat – and they'd be right. He was just a tiny dog going up against a monster a thousand times larger than him and ten thousand times more vicious than him. Like a pebble dreaming of one day becoming larger than the mountain above it – physically impossible.

Tulip couldn't see him anymore through the sweat and the tears. But she felt he was still out there, she could feel it deep inside.

Or…

Maybe…

It was just the denial talking.

They ran through the forest and passed the bushes. Over the last glimpse of the light burning from the distance and into the shadows of the branches. There the wind blew smoothly and the fruits still grew. The fire hadn't caught on yet fortunately. But fortune was the last thing on Tulip's mind right now. Though they ran a short distance, it already felt like decades to the girl.

"Oh thank goodness, there's the door," Dee cried in joy. "Sneaky little thing. I thought we'd never find you. That's some wild ride eh, Tulip?"

The girl shook off Dee's grasps and fell back down the ground, standing up right behind the two robots, panting like she'd just ran a marathon. The girl stood there… clenching her fists.

"What… is wrong with you people?"

"Tulip?" Dee turned around.

"ANSWER ME!" She shrieked violently, cracking her voice, "What is wrong with you people? You, Dee, why did you just stand there and say nothing? Back there when Atticus was running off, you didn't do anything to stop him. Just like when you saw Klyde again, you froze and did nothing! Is that going to be your reaction to everything from now on? Are you so dead inside now that you don't even care anymore?"

"Tulip…" Dee stood there, in shock.

"Tulip," said One-One, "I…"

"Don't try to comfort me you maniac!" She yelled, "I could've saved him! I could've saved Atticus. Why on earth would you not let me save him? WHY?"

"Because you would've died, child," Sad-One said in the grimmest tone he could make, "going after that dog would've meant the end for you. Do you honestly want that? Do you think Atticus would've want that?"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT HE WANTS! I just want to save him, okay? Is that so hard for you to understand? It's the right thing to do. No, I won't have any of this. I'm going back this instant and I'm going to dive straight into that beast's belly if I have to."

"Stop right there!" One-One announced, "If you go after him, Atticus is going to die."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look over there, just look," One-One pointed. "Right now there are two brave creatures fighting this impossible monster birthed from myth. Fighting to give you another day to live, another day to figure out the secrets of this train. You want to go back there and try to help them out now? Then be my guest. Just know that by doing so you're throwing away all of their sacrifices down the drain. However… if you choose to instead push through this tragedy and continue our journey then maybe, just maybe you'll be able to find something to help the two of them, even if they die."

"Wha…"

"This is a train full of impossibility," said One-One, "it's no stranger to illogic and unexplainable phenomena. Even something as absurd as bringing the dead back to life could be possible on this train."

"What?" Tulip cried, "How do you even know if any of that is true or not?"

"I don't," One-One said frankly. "But that's a gamble I'm willing to bet on if I were you. Because the chance of something like that happening is, as far as I'm concerned, a lot more guaranteed than just charging head first towards that dragon."

A gamble I'm willing to bet on.

Those words resonated deeply within Tulip. All her life she had never wanted to leave anything to chance. Because it was random, illogical, and unfair.

But now…

On this train of impossibility, random chances and gambling had somehow made a lot more sense than it did before. Because she had finally realized now an oddity within the normal everyday life might seem strange but in a world full of insanity they could hardly compare. Strange things might be hard to explain but at the very least they were not nonsense.

And that was all she had on her hands now. Two choices, and yet the one that made more sense was the one that forced her onto a ridiculous gamble.

But all that mattered very little to the girl at that moment, because the only thing Tulip could think of now was how she didn't even get to say goodbye to Atticus.