A/N: And here it is, the dreaded and infamous Ball Pit Car. Now, like I said, this would be the storm of my story. And it will be very heavy. Those of you with weak constitutions, I suggest you refrain from reading this if you don't wish to be triggered.
Chapter XVII: The Ball Pit Car
Today was the first day of the rest of their lives. Or at least, it was meant to be. As it turned out, their "marriage" was only a figment created for them to learn their lessons. Of course, it didn't mean it was fake. The moments they shared together were real. Their first kiss was proof of that. And that was just one of the previous moments they've had.
Every moment before that was just as real, from the first time they met up until now. And they made each one of them count, especially their most recent moment together. While everyone else fell asleep, Tulip and Bryce headed back to the Matchmaking Car to try out the Lovebirds' Nest after the latter was persuaded. He wasn't sure about it at first, but Tulip assured him that if he was ready to take that step, she'd take it with him. And he did.
With that step, the two of them grew closer than ever. They trusted each other with their bodies, their hearts, and their souls. Beyond that, what happens in the Lovebirds' Nest stays in the Lovebirds' Nest. Coincidentally, it just so happened to be it's policy. The two of them stuck to it; neither of them were sure how their parents would take it.
The next morning, Tulip woke up to find herself in the resting area of the Graph Chart Car. It held a small couch that doubles as a trundle with a table and lamp combo beside it with a red chair on the adjacent side of it. And while Bryce laid next to her on the trundle, Penny was sleeping on Bailey's lap alongside Ava with Atticus and Rexy sleeping at their feet with the dinosaur inadvertently brushing Atticus' fur backwards and One-One sitting on the table. She gave a soft smile as she sat up and looked to the dozing Bryce before she prodded his forehead.
"Come on, big guy. Wake up."
Bryce stirred from his slumber, slowly opening his eyes to see a beautiful, long, red-haired girl in front of him. She was already dressed back up in her original clothes, though her jacket wasn't on her. He smiled back at her as he sat up from the trundle.
"Morning, Tulip."
"How'd you sleep?"
"Don't know. I'm still seeing you right now."
Tulip lightly laughed at Bryce's words as she spoke.
"Come on, Bryce. I'm serious."
"So am I. I can't help it if you're in my head all the time. Not that I don't enjoy looking at you."
"Well, that's nice of you to say. Must've had a good time sleeping, then."
"You bet."
Tulip got up off of the couch to pick up her glasses from the table beside One-One, and her backpack from the floor. At the same time, Bryce got off of the couch to pick up his jacket from the chair that Penny and Ava used as a makeshift blanket just as the former yawned awake and blinked her eyes open to see Bryce and Tulip going out of the door. Next, it was Tulip's turn to yawn as she stretched herself before blowing on her glasses and wiping them clean with her own jacket before looking to her number "3" on the palm of her hand. It hadn't changed since the Chrome Car, and Bryce's own number was a tad above hers. All the better to know how far they've come since they met.
Tulip tied her hair back up into a ponytail with her black rubber band as she and Bryce sat by the edge of the red line that took them to the resting place. As they sat down, Penny got out of the door next, rubbing her eyes with her arm as she spoke in a soft moan.
"Can we eat yet? I'm getting hungry..."
Bryce smiled at her as he looked over to Tulip.
"What do you think, Tulip? Got anything for breakfast?"
"One instant breakfast, coming right up."
Tulip looked into her backpack as she shifted through it. She had a handful packed before she got on the train, and with what they endured these past four months, she knew it was handy to get some food to eat along the way (preferably not the living kind). Tulip got out a small bottle, a packet of chocolate powder, and a fresh container of warm milk that never turns bad (a memento from the previous Fresh Dairy Car).
Tulip opened up the bottle and opened the packet before putting the powder inside it into the bottle. Next, she poured the milk into the bottle, closed it, and shook it vigorously. After the shaking, Tulip handed Penny the bottle.
"There you go."
Penny took the bottle from her hands before she drank it. When she did, her eyes widened in awe before she swallowed it and became infatuated with it as she looked to Tulip.
"Wow! It tastes so good!"
"I know, right?"
Penny began to eagerly drink the rest of it as Bailey, Atticus, One-One, Ava, and Rexy got out of the door next. They had just woken up not long after Penny left the room. Most of them weren't as groggy as Penny earlier, with Rexy and Atticus being the exception as the latter's fur was frizzled almost beyond recognition. Almost... Bailey noticed up ahead that Penny was chugging the instant breakfast and gave a small giggle as she'd finished up the rest of the drink before she spoke.
"Someone had a good breakfast."
"Uh-huh. It's like healthy chocolate milk. At least, that's what Tulip said."
Bailey looked over to Tulip with an impressed smirk.
"I see. Well, did she think of what you should do with your teeth afterwards?"
"Already ahead of you."
To prove her point, Tulip got out her toothbrush and toothpaste from her backpack and began to brush her teeth as she hummed to herself while looking at a laminated binder that held a presentation that stated "Annual Report". It piqued her interest as Penny gave her a little nudge on her sleeve.
"Hey, Tulip? Can I brush my teeth, too? I don't wanna get cavities."
And she wasn't the only one, either. One-One wanted to be sure that he was cavity-free as well.
"Ms. Tulip, I don't wanna get cavities, either."
"Oh, of course not. Uh... I mean, I think I can cover one of you, but..."
Fortunately, Bryce knew how to handle it.
"It's alright. I'll let Penny have mine."
Bryce gave Penny a smile as he opened up a side pocket of his own backpack to get out another toothbrush before handing it to Penny. As for Tulip, she unclipped the binder before tossing out the pages it held, coating the end of it with her toothpaste and handing it to One-One before she spoke to them.
"Here you go. Don't forget to get the ones in the back."
Penny nodded to her while One-One's sad voice slightly retorted.
"Okay."
"You're not my dentist."
While Penny and One-One went to brush their teeth, Atticus and Rexy were walking up to the duo while the latter spoke.
"Honestly, I am sorry, Atticus. I wasn't trying to make you look like... that on purpose."
"I understand. There were a few witnesses that say I kick in my sleep."
Bryce and Tulip turned to the two of them as the former spoke up.
"Whoa. What happened to you, Atticus?"
"Yes, well, with Rexy's incessant backwards petting in his sleep..."
"I said I was sorry!"
"...along with the hard floors here, my fur and I seem to be having a disagreement."
Tulip again took charge of the situation as she wiped her mouth from her toothpaste.
"Well, I think it kinda suits you, but—"
She licked her hand before using it to brush his fur back into place, restoring him to normal before she spoke to the Corgi King with a smile.
"Very regal."
"I appreciate it."
As Atticus walked away from them, Bryce turned to Rexy.
"And what about you? You need anything?"
"Actually, I'm good. It's Ava you might wanna ask about."
He pointed over to Ava as she appeared down in the dumps. She was sitting over the edge of the line, appearing disconsolate as she took a sigh. Rexy explained her condition as Tulip took notice of her as well.
"She's been like this since she woke up."
Bryce had a theory about Ava's mood, turning back to Rexy as he replied.
"Well, maybe she's still trying to wake up."
"Nope. Trust me, I know what that looks like. But this? It's almost... sad."
This got Bryce and Tulip stumped for a moment before recalling how they used to be like that. Same went for Penny, too, if only for one instant. Maybe she's getting anxious about being able to find her own mother. After all, no such luck had come to her yet. But they knew just who to turn that frown upside-down. As it happened, she cane running right to them with One-One beside her as she went into her brother's arms while the robot waddled over to Tulip.
"Clean!"
"My tartar's under control!"
"I can see that."
While Penny giggled, Bryce could smell the difference as he spoke.
"And smell it, too."
With that, almost everyone was eager to go as Tulip turned to the group with One-One, Bailey, Penny, Rexy, and Atticus sounding off.
"Alright, you guys ready?"
"Ready!"
"Ready, Freddy."
"Ready!"
"Ditto!"
"At your command."
While they all huddled together, Bailey turned over to Ava before speaking up to her.
"Hey, Ava. You ready to go?"
Her voice snapped Ava out of her stupor as she turned behind her and spoke up.
"Huh? Oh! Yes. Sorry."
Ava joined the group with a somewhat sad expression on her face, something Penny took notice of with curiosity developing on her face just as Tulip shouted:
"I declare bankruptcy!"
Suddenly, the line plummeted down with Penny exclaiming as she went down just as fast along with them. The fall from such a height unnerved her as she was flailing before Bryce got her hand and pulled her close before setting it over his shoulder with her other hand clutching onto her hand before he jumped on the line and propelled himself further with Tulip, Atticus, Rexy, Ava, and Bailey beside him with One-One in Tulip's hand before they landed on the bottom line as the red line crashed through it and looked to the door with most of the group smiling towards the door in front of them as Penny giggled from adrenaline.
"Let's do it again!"
The group got out of the car and went out onto the bridge with Tulip leading the way. While they walked, though, Penny looked back to Ava and felt bad for her as she slowed her steps enough for Ava to walk over to her as she tried to connect with her.
"Are you okay, Ava?"
Ava wasn't as thrown off like last time, but she hardly lifted her head as she replied.
"I'm just fine, Penny. Everything's just peachy."
As Ava walked past her, Penny grabbed her hand, stopping her before she spoke.
"Then why do you look so sad? Is it about your mom?"
Play Chrome Canyon Music: "Thank You, Simon (Unreleased Book 3 Music from The Campfire Car)"
Ava clenched her teeth from hearing this, making Penny worried before she took a deep breath.
"I told you. I'm fine..."
Ava moved her hand away from Penny before she spoke again.
"You can talk to me, you know. I know how it felt to lose my mom. If you need me, just... just talk to me. Okay?"
Ava was silent for a moment before replying back.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Ava began walking towards the car in front of her with Penny giving a sad smile as she followed close by, unaware that Osore and the Steward were watching from on top of the car behind her. He gave a livid glare through his visor as he spoke.
"Those little fools think this train is their paradise. Well, they'll have their rude awakening soon enough, won't they?"
Osore extended his clawed fingernails as he gazed towards Penny while she closed the door behind her.
End Chrome Canyon Music: "Thank You, Simon (Unreleased Book 3 Music from The Campfire Car)"
Meanwhile, Penny and Ava caught up to the others as they took off their shoes in accordance to the TV by the shoe holder shaped like numerous honeycombs. The TV showed a humanoid bumblebee with a sign above it saying, "Hey, you" before switching to a purple and yellow flashing screen with the words, "Take off your shoes!" flashing on opposition to the background's color. It wasn't long before it showed a simulation of the bumblebee with his shoes wig an arrow flashing at them as they disappeared before it showed that same bumblebee laying down and waving with the words, "Thanks, Honey!" above him. Penny and Ava looked to each other as the former spoke with a smile.
"Doesn't that bee look silly, Ava?"
"Yeah. I think that was the point."
The two of them complied with the rules as they took their own shoes off first before placing them in the shoe holder with Tulip and Bailey's backpacks on top of it as Rexy spoke.
"If you were part of the race, you'd have lost, already. Because, I don't wear shoes."
Rexy proved it as he wiggled his little toes before Penny corrected him.
"Actually, you wouldn't count because you don't wear shoes."
Ava began to laugh from Penny's comeback as she made a small snort followed by a chuckle, making Penny laugh with her as Rexy felt miffed by the comment as he grumbled, though he made a small smile as he heard Ava getting better from her sour mood. All the while, Tulip, Bryce, and Bailey looked around the car as they spoke.
"No exit in sight..."
"No map for this place, either."
"Were places like this so easy to get lost in back in your world, guys?"
Bryce turned over to her as he replied.
"Not usually."
In that moment, One-One piped up in his glad voice as he moved the net away to see a ball pit of many colored balls in front of him.
"Ms. Tulip, Mr. Bryce, look at all these mums!"
Tulip and Bryce smiled at him before looking to each other and winking to each other before they started to jokingly apply pressure on him with her going first.
"I guess we could just stand here, not moving, and give a real hard look."
As expected, it was more than One-One can handle as he began to get anxious. Bryce player with him next as he spoke.
"Yep. Just standing out here on the floor, where we won't be distracted. Without moving, mind you."
It was getting harder and harder for One-One to resist as his nub was trying to reach into the other side and take the plunge before Tulip spoke.
"Or, I suppose we could take a quick break to—"
Suddenly, Penny cut her off short with her, Atticus, and Ava running towards the ball pit and leaping through the net as they exclaimed before Tulip, Bryce, Rexy, One-One, and Bailey leaped through it next and landed in the Ball Pit next. While Atticus picked up a blue ball in his mouth and played with it, Penny popped out of the pit, roaring with laughter as One-One swam in the pit while Ava waded over to Penny, laughing just as much as she was while Rexy got a bunch of the balls in his mouth and shot them out like cannons as Bailey, Bryce, and Tulip looked around. Of course, the last of the trio spoke as Bailey and Bryce looked to her.
"Now, this is the kind of thing I'm gonna miss when I get home."
"Wait. Weren't you trying to get to OshKosh before, whatever that is?"
Tulip had a semi-sad look on her face as she spoke.
"Well, I mean, I was trying to get to Game Design Camp. But... it's over. Now I just... kinda wanna go home?"
Tulip then looked over to see Penny and Ava playing together as the latter was tickling her senseless, making her laugh.
"Haha! You are powerless before my ticklers!"
"Oh, stop! Stop, I surrender!"
Tulip gave a small smile to them before turning to Bryce.
"So, any idea what you're gonna do when you get back home?"
Bryce looked over to Tulip as he replied.
"Well, first thing I'm gonna do when I get back is turn the money back into the bank and... and maybe turn myself in."
This made Tulip worried as she made a shocked gasp. She knew that Bryce doesn't have much to come back to other than retaliation. Why would he turn himself in?
"But what about all the trouble you'll get into? Don Romero isn't gonna let that go, and... and it'll break your parents' hearts, won't it?"
"I already broke their hearts when I stole that money for them, Tulip."
Tulip hung her head down with a sigh. She had to admit he wasn't wrong. Her own heart was broken for a while when she found out what he did. But she was able to put it behind her. Who knows if his family ever could?
"Besides, I'm sure I'll find a way to help my parents out. And who knows? With how long we've been gone, Romero and his men won't even think of going after me; he'd think I'm dead by now. And more than that, it's worth it if it'll help my family see that I'm not a bad person. Just a good man."
Tulip gave him a gentle smile as she spoke back with a nod.
"I can respect that. It's the same reason I wanna go back; to be a better person for my parents, for Mikayla, and... well, pretty much everyone I ever met."
Bryce smiled back to her as he replied.
"As far as I'm concerned, you already are."
Tulip began to blush towards him before she started to laugh and Bryce joined in with her a few seconds after. When their laughter was done, she looked up almost to the ceiling as she spoke to herself before Bryce held onto her hand and he finished her sentence.
"Well... we've got a long road ahead of us when we get back home..."
"But every step's gonna be worth it."
"Yeah."
After a moment, Tulip widened her eyes as she came to realize something; throughout their whole endeavor, they didn't get to ask each other about their phone numbers.
"Oh! I almost forgot. I didn't get to ask earlier. Can I... get your number?"
Bryce began to blush himself as he realized the same thing.
"Uh, sure! If I can get yours, too. I might need it."
Tulip smiled to him as she got her phone out and showed it to him as she spoke while Bryce got his own phone out to show Tulip his own number and she typed it in.
"Fair enough. But why would you say it like that?"
"Oh, nothing. Just the fact that I might be put in jail or witness protection."
Just as Tulip finished typing his number on her phone, she gave him a punch on the shoulder as she spoke to him with a slight laugh.
"Ha, ha. Very funny."
Then, as Bryce typed Tulip's number into his phone, she looked down to Atticus with a soft smile before she spoke gratefully.
"Hey, Atticus? Thanks for sticking with us through all this."
Atticus turned back to her, spitting out his ball as he replied back.
"A king needs to avenge the wrongs committed against his kingdom. Turning a blind eye to what that monster did isn't an option. And the same should go for Osore and Night Shroud, assuming she survived."
"But, you don't need us for that. We've got a lot of stuff going on, stuff that you don't have to deal with."
Atticus flipped himself back up before he continued.
"Tulip, everything we've dealt with, we have dealt with as a team. I have never questioned our alliance or friendship, the latter of which I value more."
Tulip knelt down and brushed Atticus by his head as she replied to him softly, only to earn Atticus' correction.
"Thanks, Atticus. You're a good boy."
"I'm a good man."
Bryce smiled at him as he scratched under his chin while he interjected.
"Right. Of course, you are."
Meanwhile, Penny, Ava, One-One, and Rexy were enjoying themselves as they played in the ball pit; well, that is, everyone for the moment. Penny was "splashing" them up with glee as Ava's own joy was beginning to diminish as she began to think how happy she was in comparison to her. As her face started to burrow into a frown, Penny took notice and tried to get to the bottom of her mood. She was sure that playing with her was working; maybe it did, but it wasn't a permanent solution. If there was ever a time to talk, it had to be now.
"Ava, are you sure you're okay?"
She didn't answer, refusing to look up as she turned away for a moment before Penny tried again.
"You can talk to us, Ava. We're here for you."
Ava looked up to her, somewhat jealous of her as she replied almost dismally.
"It's easy for you to say. You have your mother. But what about me? I haven't had any luck whatsoever finding her. Who knows if she's even there at all?"
Penny waded over to Ava as she answered for her.
"The Conductor would. Isn't it the whole point?"
Ava took a deep sigh as she spoke to her.
"Yes, but... look, I wouldn't expect you to understand."
"But I do, though. We're still looking for my daddy, too. Did you forget?"
This made Ava blush a bit as she spoke embarrassedly.
"Oh, right. My mistake. But the point is, you of all people should understand how personal it is to me."
As Ava spoke, she recalled a small town that had many stone-like buildings with palm trees and various dinosaurs of all types, be it carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore as they carried on the way people usually did. For instance, there was a Velociraptor with rough red skin wearing a tag around his neck as he ran a marathon around the field. Another case showed a humanoid triceratops wearing football attire rushing at a dummy and knocking it down at the center of the grassy field as it showed a green T-Rex walking out of the stoney school building and out to the sidewalk while Ava narrated.
"Truth is, I wasn't lucky enough to be born and raised in the Orphanage Car like you were. I ended up... somewhere else."
Suddenly, the ground began to shake, causing her to lose her balance a bit, but the female T-Rex held herself steady with her large legs before noticing a bizarre sight from the faraway forest: a huge robot in a dark cloak with a red wave across its dome far away. The sight spooked her at first, but then, she noticed the robot was carrying something. It was something swaddled up in a pink blanket. When the robot walked away, the T-Rex went after it. A few moments after, she got in the middle of the forest, though too late to catch up to the robot. But, she did hear crying close by. The female went to check it out as Ava continued speaking to Penny.
"The mother who raised me told me about how she saw a giant robot in her car."
"A giant robot?"
"Yes. And by the time she caught up to it, it was already gone. But I wasn't. That's when she found me."
The female looked around for the source, peeking through a bush to see a pink blanket moving around near a nest of eggs. She went closer towards the blanket and took notice of what was inside: a young baby girl with the word, "Ava" inscribed in bright red on the blanket. She gasped in surprise at the sight of it as it didn't appear to resemble any dinosaur she ever knew in this car. But, she knew it needed comfort as she shushed it gently, before speaking softly.
"You'll be okay. Mommy's gonna look after you."
The infant Ava settled down as she began to be soothed by her voice. So much so, in fact, that she began to fall asleep. The female then picked up the blanket with her teeth and began to walk with the swaddled baby in tow as Ava continued.
"Since then, I was raised by the people who lived in the Tiny Dinosaur Car. At the time, though, I didn't even know it was a train car. Still, it was fairly obvious that I wasn't like the others."
In the later years that followed, it showed Ava as an impressionable young girl who was infatuated with Rexy's teeth as he showed them in the mirror after brushing them. Ava followed his lead and took notice of how dull they were, at least in comparison to Rexy's teeth.
"My teeth weren't as sharp..."
Next, it showed her adoptive mother having trouble reaching the sewing kit from the shelf with her short arms before the now slightly older Ava reached it for her and picked it up.
"My arms were longer... but the main thing was this:"
Next, it showed the now current Ava surrounded by other dinosaurs in a classroom (ranging from, but not limited to, T-Rex to Triceratops) as a Troodon wearing glasses and a tweed jacket spoke.
"Now, can anyone tell me what is on the top of the Dinosaur hierarchy and what their names mean?"
Ava was quick to raise her hand before the Troodon Teacher called to her.
"Yes, Ava?"
"That would be the T-Rex. And the full name of it is 'Tyrannosaurus Rex' which means 'King of the Tyrant Lizards'."
It caused a bit of an uproar as the class gasped before mumbling all at once in dissatisfaction. It made her feel embarrassed as the present Ava spoke before it went back to the present in the Ball Pit Car.
"Smart as I was, I lacked two things to fit in: scales and a tail. Eventually, I got fed up with it and I tried to find out where I came from. But all she knew was that she found me carried by a giant robot. And the blanket she found me in was more than enough for me to know that... that I must've had a family before I was left in Pebblestone. Or at least a mother. Anyway, nobody knew where that robot came from, so I assumed it came from behind that door. And who knows? Maybe I could find my own mother there, too, wherever she is. I tried to figure it out by myself, but Rexy insisted he come along with me. And he followed me ever since."
Rexy nodded as he interjected.
"And I'm glad I did. Friends stick together till the end."
The story intrigued Penny as she looked over to Ava while the latter spoke.
"Yes, they do. But lately... I've been having second thoughts."
"But why? Don't you wanna see your mom?"
"Of course, I do, Penny. But this whole train goes farther than the eye can see. Who knows if she's even alive? Or even if I do find her... would she remember me? Or even love me?"
In that moment, Penny quickly hugged Ava with a smile before she spoke.
"Sure she will. All mommies love their babies."
One-One took the opportunity to speak up in his sad voice.
"Yeah, Stockholm Syndrome can do that to you."
Ava began to smile as small tears of joy were going out of her eyes before she wiped them with a sniffle.
"Thanks, Penny. I needed that."
"Sure. Friends stick together, right?"
Just then, they heard a scuffling on the pit before hearing a strange voice within calling out to the group, making Penny turn her head.
"Heroes!"
"Huh?"
"We need heroes!"
One-One and the others, including Tulip, Bryce, and Bailey, started looking around the ball pit for any sign of the source of the voice. But because it was so large, it was hard to tell, at least for Glad One.
"He could be anywhere."
However, Penny noticed a small rabbit's foot sticking out of the pit. She went over to it immediately and jumped at it before lifting him up from the pit. When she did, Penny found that she was holding the rest of the rabbit upside-down. He was in a teal color with his fluff being his tongue, and was dressed in a purple beanie hat and a lederhosen of sorts as the rabbit spoke.
"Jeepers! Are you the champions I've been waiting for?"
The term confused Penny as she tilted her head. Although she did many brave things, she never considered herself to be a hero in general. But it wasn't hard for Atticus to answer.
"You're in luck. I am Atticus, King and Uniter of the Cardigans and the Pembrookes."
"Well, I'm Khaki Bottoms. And all of the cotton is rushing to my head."
When she heard this, Penny flipped Khaki back up and set him on the ball pit.
"Oh! Sorry. My name's Penny."
Tulip took the opportunity to introduce herself and the others next.
"I'm Tulip, and this is One-One and Bailey."
Glad One spoke up before Bailey as they gathered to him.
"My cotton is where it's supposed to be."
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Bottoms."
Bryce spoke up next, introducing himself along with Ava and Rexy, who smiled to the stuffed rabbit.
"And I'm Bryce, and they are Ava and Rexy."
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Great to meet you, pal."
Needless to say, Khaki was impressed with who he's met with.
"Look at you all! This is perfect!"
It piqued Penny's interest as she inquired to Khaki before he put on a mysterious furrow.
"Really?"
"I have an artifact that needs to be returned to its sacred holding chamber—"
Khaki held out a small purple toy with stars on it that jiggled as he spoke.
"—the jiggle wiggle."
Penny tapped on the jiggle wiggle and giggled as it shook up before Khaki laughed and spoke.
"Rewards await adventurers who are bold!"
Tulip, Bryce, and Penny smiled to the rabbit as they spoke.
"Yeah, adventure. Can't get enough of it."
"Well, we've had about almost twenty of them so far. What's one more gonna hurt?"
"I'll help you, Khaki! We all will!"
Khaki was no doubt satisfied with their answer as he hopped into the ball pit.
"Bottoms up!"
Later, Khaki was hopping around the play area with Tulip, Bryce, Bailey, Penny, Ava, Rexy, Atticus, and One-One following close by until they came across a play area with several noodles lined up in place of the steps of a ladder as Khaki spoke to them.
"The first trial has claimed many."
Atticus tested the first noodle himself, and it ended up spinning backwards, making him gasp as he understood the difficulty.
"I can see why."
Bryce didn't think much of the challenge. It seemed too easy for him.
"Please. This might as well be a cakewalk."
Bryce walked up onto the noodles quickly, but because of their spinning, he was just as swiftly swept off his feet and slipped down on the noodles onto the floor with a grumble.
"Ow..."
Khaki looked down at Bryce as he spoke.
"I tried to warn you. Good try, though."
Despite the difficulty, Tulip smiled to Bryce as she spoke.
"It's okay, Bryce. I got this."
To prove this, Tulip surveyed the ladder and had an idea how to get by it as she set her foot on the noodles and let them spin underneath it. After a moment, she set her foot down on it before making her way up to the top as the group looked on in awe and surprise. Though, One-One felt caution was to be taken seriously, especially pertaining to an important factor.
"Ms. Tulip, without a helmet?"
"You'll probably end up getting whacked like Mr. Bryce."
"I live dangerously."
Tulip neared the top of the platform and was about to reach it when she slipped. However, unlike Bryce, she didn't fall on the noodles, but on the platform itself. It could've been more graceful, but she called it a win, nonetheless.
"Ta-da!"
Penny was easily impressed as she clapped her hands.
"Way to go, Tulip!"
Khaki added his own praise as well as he turned to Penny.
"They're gonna make a statue of her one day."
All the same, however, Bryce blushed from his shortcoming and from how Tulip overcame it where he couldn't. He couldn't help but smile at her.
"Yeah..."
Then, he shook it off before he spoke.
"Let me try this again. I'm sure it'll be better this time."
Bryce cautiously stepped on the noodles and walked upwards before he jumped up to the platform and turned around to see Bailey, Penny, Ava, and the others as he spoke.
"Nailed it!"
Khaki also happened to be impressed with the effort Bryce made this time around.
"Way to get back up, my noble champion!"
"Ah, it was nothing."
This made Penny excited, jumping up and down as she spoke elatedly.
"I'll go next!"
As Penny went up to the noodles, Ava and Bailey felt she'd hurt herself more quickly with that energy.
"Be careful, Penny!"
"You'd slip if you go too fast, remember?"
"It's okay. I can handle it."
To prove it, Penny stepped on the noodles and did short quick jumps, putting herself closer to the platform. But when she landed the last jump, she nearly toppled over, losing her balance until Tulip and Bryce caught her hands and pulled her close until she joined them on the platform before turning to the group with a big smile.
"I win!"
Ava put on a confused look as she didn't hear any mention of it.
"Penny, we weren't doing a race."
"Maybe, but at least I'm not last place."
Ava widened her eyes from Penny's words. Was she challenging her? A smirk came across her face as she spoke.
"Oh-ho-ho! You're in for it now, Penny Charleston!"
Ava began to walk upon the noodles next, catching up to her as Rexy cheered her on.
"Yeah, you show them who's boss, Ava! Show them!"
Ava gracefully walked on the noodles as she got closer to Penny. And when she got close enough, she leaped up to the platform, precisely where Penny was. While Penny grew surprised, Ava collided into Penny, pushing her to the ground as Ava hung over her with a smile before she began to laugh with Penny joining in that laughter with Tulip and Bryce taking notice of that friendship before Bailey spoke up.
"Back up, guys! Two more are coming your way!"
Bailey quickly picked up Rexy by his sides as she eyed the noodles.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
Bailey didn't answer as she ran up on the noodles and jumped up to the platform just as the others backed up. When they landed, Bailey set Rexy down as Khaki was reveling in pure joy.
"Oh, my! There are a lot of heroes, today!"
Then, Penny realized one problem with the rest. Their feet and/or nubs weren't as sturdy as theirs. Fortunately, Tulip had a solution.
"How are we gonna get the others across?"
"Don't worry, Penny. I got it covered."
Tulip unzipped her jacket and let them down across the noodles for Atticus to hold on to as he chomped on the sleeve before One-One and Khaki rode on his back as Glad One shouted.
"We're also heroes!"
Tulip pulled onto the jacket, letting them all get on the platform with one final pull, the whole group unaware of two shadows going over the slides around them: one belonged to the Steward while the other resembled the same demon Bryce and Penny warded off at the Turtles' Car. Oblivious to the foreboding shadows, Tulip and Bryce spoke to the group.
"We'll put that one down as a team effort."
"Fair enough. Now, what do you say we move on?"
Before Bryce could get to the yellow slide beside them, Khaki jumped up in the way and imitated lasers before he spoke up to them.
"Wait! Force field! You're gonna have to solve the puzzle to deactivate it."
The group turned behind them to see a Tic-Tac-Toe board with two red X's on the first row across with one piece being blank. The row below it had two green circles and one X while the bottom had two green circles and a blank tile in between them. One-One's sad side found it easily befuddling.
"We could be stranded up here for weeks. I'll split up the rations."
One-One split himself up into two before his sad side spoke again.
"I'll warn you, I'm gamey."
However, Tulip didn't see any need to worry as she reassured him while putting her jacket back on.
"Fear not, One-One. I've danced this tango once or twice before."
Before she could attempt it, however, Penny piped up.
"Oh! Oh! Can I try the puzzle?! It's just like Tic-Tac-Toe!"
This made Bailey curious as she looked down to her daughter.
"Wait, you know about Tic-Tac-Toe?"
"Uh-huh. Ms. Tabby always played it with me. I'm really good at it."
Bailey looked at the board in front of her and Tulip before the latter gave her a smile.
"Okay. If you think you can handle it, I won't stop you."
"Yay!"
Penny eagerly went over to the puzzle before stopping just in front of it. She took a look at the number of circles and X's as she thought to herself. The number of circles was just one above the number of X's. To her, it was clear what she was. And she raised a pointer finger as she looked at the board while Atticus became intrigued.
"Ooh."
Penny's eyes went towards the blank tile on the first row across and guided her finger to it. Upon pushing it, it switched to a red X, making a perfect row of red X's as she showed the group her success.
"Ta-da!"
Atticus spoke up in surprise as everyone else grew impressed.
"A bold move!"
Khaki then imitated the force field shutting down before he spoke as he jumped down from the slide and offered Penny the way forward.
"Okay, it's safe to go now. Hup! After you, champion."
Penny smiled to Khaki as he giggled before leading the way. She and the others traveled within the big slide as Penny looked around in awe. It wasn't long before they ended up in a velcro rope type of area where they can walk and see through the openings it had simultaneously. From there, it was a quick trip to the green slide into the next room with Penny, Ava, Bryce, Tulip, Bailey, Atticus, One-One, Rexy, and Khaki went down on it in that order with the last of the group laughing before he put up a serious face.
"The final test— the punching bags of pain."
Rexy only scoffed at the test ahead of him as he spoke.
"They can't be a match for Rexy the Wrecker of Pebblestone. I smashed a rock into pieces, once. This is nothing."
Rexy, determined to prove his title was well-earned, charged into the punching bags, only to get pushed to the wall with a thud and an "oof!" to go with it. Recoiling from his vain attack, Rexy stood up as he shook his head.
"Okay... so, wrecking won't work."
Ava knew what to do next as she reassured Rexy.
"Maybe not. But I think I know how to deal with this."
Ava walked into the punching bags as the group of denizens became surprised while Tulip, Bryce, and Bailey watched as Penny encouraged her.
"There she goes."
"It was nice knowing you..."
"Don't sell her short, One-One. Being with her as long as I have, Ava is one tough customer."
"You can do it, Ava!"
Ava tried her best to navigate through them, parting them away from her, but one of them hit her in the face. Despite it, however, she pressed on until she made it to the other side and parted the bags away enough to let the others pass, making Khaki shout in praise.
"Yay!"
The group walked through the punching bags, unaware of the two shadows looming outside as Khaki prosed on the group's bravery so far.
"With courage and grace, the champions rise to the challenge."
Far away, Rexy and Atticus commented on the decor of the room, consisting mainly of a bed and mini-fridge with a desk and lamp beside it, along with a prize counter holding several items, including a Randall-In-A-Jar among other things.
"This place doesn't look half-bad."
"Very cozy."
"Oh, my jeepers! Thank you so much! I tell you, few eyes get to gaze upon its majesty. You are so lucky."
The group went closer to the prize counter as the people among them knelt down with Bryce taking a knee while Penny sat down and Tulip crouched down. Bailey crouched down as well while Ava sat criss-cross as Khaki got out the jiggle wiggle.
"And now, the artifact can rest."
Khaki placed the jiggle wiggle on the spot fitting it just right before he spoke with joy.
"And the world is made whole again! While heroism of your caliber can never be properly rewarded, your bravery must be recognized."
This made Bailey smile to him as she spoke.
"Thanks, Khaki, but you don't have to."
"Nonsense. You may select any of the—"
Before Khaki could finish, both Penny and One-One spoke quickly at the same time.
"Jiggle wiggle!"
Khaki leapt up in surprise as he replied to their answer.
"An excellent choice! It's basically the most fun thing ever."
Khaki handed Penny the jiggle wiggle before she squeezed onto it, making it slip out of her hand before catching it with her other hand as she giggled while Tulip spoke.
"Neat."
Suddenly, the building in which they were inside shook up, as if struck by an earthquake, though it was for a brief moment. Bailey turned to the group out of shock as she didn't experience this since her time in the Paradise Car during the Shutdown.
"What was that?!"
Bryce and Tulip took a look outside the window to see a terrifying sight as they gasped: the mechanical tentacles of the Steward traveling everywhere. And even worse, a demonic shadow was going everywhere as well as it laughed sinisterly. Tulip and Bryce didn't like it one bit.
"It's that monster again!"
"And that shadow thing, too. Didn't Penny and I get rid of it before?"
Then, Bryce recalled who was capable of pulling off such a dangerous feat. It was the same person who trapped Penny in her nightmare...
"It's Osore! He's here with the monster! For all we know, Night Shroud can't be far behind, either."
This put Tulip in a flustered state as she turned to the others.
"Oh, no, no, no, no...! We gotta go! Right now!"
Just then, Penny took notice of the scariest part: she noticed the steward's tentacles crawling around the punching bags as she shouted.
"The monster's getting in here, too!"
As the group backed away, Bryce turned to Khaki for an answer.
"Great. How do we get out of here?"
"But you just got here, and the feast of a thousand chicken nuggets—"
"Ordinarily, we would stay, but this is serious. Where's the exit?"
Khaki then gave out the directions as he spoke.
"All the way down, left, then right. You'll get to a slide, and the door is just outside."
Tulip felt grateful as she spoke softly before Bryce spoke to the group.
"Thanks. You need to hide someplace safe, Khaki."
"Guys, we need to hoof it out of here, but stay quiet. They don't know we're here yet. So let's keep it that way."
One-One began to interject.
"I think that—"
Before he could speak, Tulip shushed him and shook her head. She then picked him up and gave him to Penny as she spoke.
"Keep him out of trouble, Penny. Got it?"
"Uh-huh."
Tulip then went to the slide in front of her, only to notice an outrageous number of tentacles inside the slide. Cautiously, the group went down it, avoiding the tentacles around it with Bryce following behind Tulip as Penny (along with One-One), Ava, Bailey, Rexy, and Atticus followed him. When a tentacles slid down in front of her, she tried to move her way around it just as it began to move around. It forced Tulip to hold in any nervous shout she may want to use before she moved forward and the others followed, navigating around the stray tentacle. The group then went on the slide to the left, climbing up on it with Bryce helping her up while Penny held One-One. But as she held him, she didn't notice her jiggle wiggle slipping away. By the time she did, it was already out of her pocket. They gasped and she tried to grab it, but it slipped again. However, Bailey was able to catch it and set it in her own pocket as she spoke softly.
"That was close..."
The group drew a soft sigh before pressing on. When they did, however, Penny took notice of a dark, evil shadow underneath her smiling maliciously at her. This brought unfortunate memories of her torture in the Turtles' Car to mind as she could remember how close that monster came to killing Bryce and then killing her. She couldn't help but scream as she backed away, making Tulip and Bryce look up to her just in time for the tentacles to clench the space around them and pull the slide apart, sending the group to the ground as they fell before being met with not only the steward, but also with the man Bryce suspected. And Tulip didn't like it one bit...
"Osore!"
Seeing him in person, Bailey began to get livid with anger as she growled to herself.
"First, he destroyed my car... and all those innocent people... and now, he's tortured my daughter?!"
It was getting harder and harder for Bailey to contain her anger as Osore spoke to Tulip.
"Finally. It took you long enough, little flower."
The name frustrated her, but the more he said it, the more she began to feel that she'd met him before. She wasn't sure how, but she planned to find out.
"Why do you keep calling me that?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
Osore smirked as the steward opened fire on the group, making them retreat behind the slide. As they hid, Atticus turned to the group and spoke to them as Bryce got out his sharpened cubes sword and turned to him.
"Everyone, it has been an honor. But now's the time you save yourselves."
On the other hand, Tulip and Penny became worried as Bailey noticed her sling pack far away. No doubt it was scooped up and dropped during the steward's search. This gave her an idea as she turned back to the group.
"No, Atticus. Stay here."
"I didn't leave my kingdom on a crusade, only to cower before my dragon."
Bryce argued against it as well, but for a different reason.
"Like heck I'm just gonna stay behind. Osore's got a debt to pay, too. He's not gonna get away with what he did to Penny."
Bailey piped up as she stepped closer to him.
"I'm in. Nobody hurts my daughter and gets away with it."
Penny became worried next as she spoke softly.
"But you'll die if you fight them..."
Bryce reassured Penny as he brushed her hair back.
"I promise you, Penny. Nobody's going to die. Not today."
Then, Bryce turned to Ava and Rexy as he spoke up.
"Besides, who else is gonna be able to look after the others? I need you to do that for me while we hold Osore and that thing at bay. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, but..."
"Can you do that?"
Penny couldn't deny the situation. Scared as she was, she knew she'd have no chance against Osore or the steward. And then the others would be at risk. She didn't want that to happen. So, she had to agree.
"Okay. I'll keep them safe."
"Thanks. We'll be back. I promise."
With that, Bryce, Bailey, and Atticus rushed into battle as Tulip and Penny shouted for them.
"Mom! Bryce!"
"Atticus!"
While Atticus distracted the steward, Bryce went directly for Osore, screaming at the top of his lungs as he swung his sword, only for him to retaliate with his platinum claws, holding the sword back as Bailey went after her sling pack and scooped it up before finding a certain item inside before she widened her eyes and began to hesitate for a moment before she took a deep breath and grabbed it out of the bag before running with it as Bryce repeatedly slammed his sword on his claws as he shouted with venom.
"Couldn't you just stay away?! You being anywhere near her is bad enough!"
"You're thinking too small. I'm here for more than the girl this time..."
Just then, Osore heard Bailey shout behind him before he was suddenly ambushed and knocked to the floor. When he got back up, he felt his face and felt a scratch mark on his face as four more ended up on his visor. And the cause of it was standing right in front of him: it was Bailey, holding another platinum glove in her hand, only it was more refined and sharp-edged as she panted before speaking to him viciously.
"You took everything from me..."
"I don't even know who you are."
Bailey extended her clawed glove out as she glared daggers at Osore before she spoke bitterly with tears in her eyes.
"You will..."
She shouted viciously as she lunged at him, determined to cut him down. He tried to counter, but was caught off-guard when she dodged him and grabbed his face before tossing him farther away from her and Bryce, who stood flabbergasted at how good she was doing against him. As Bailey caught her breath, Bryce spoke to her as he stood by her.
"Remind me not to make you mad."
Meanwhile, Atticus ran into a slide, hopping around as one of the steward's tentacles chased after him. That proved to be its undoing very quickly. Atticus jumped over one of the steward's other arms before it was severed by the one giving chase, spewing oil before it was forced to pull back the one that got hurt and examine the damage. After that, however, it took notice of Tulip running away with One-One, Penny, Ava, and Rexy before it gave chase. It wasn't long before the steward caught Tulip in its tentacle, making Penny and the others turn to her in fear as the little girl shouted.
"TULIP!"
Bryce took notice of this and tried to come to her aid as he shouted.
"Hold on, Tulip! I'm coming!"
Before he could get to her, however, he find himself unable to move as his own shadow was gripping his legs, making him grunt as Osore spoke coldly.
"No one is going anywhere..."
The steward targeted its guns at her, prepared to fire as she tried in vain to shield herself before a signal beeped, causing it to turn away and retract them before Tulip looked up to see what it was looking at. All the while, Osore smirked as he spoke.
"He's here..."
Play Chrome Canyon Music: "Take What We Need (Unreleased Book 3 Music from The Origami Car)"
Out of the shadows, the giant robot walked into view, showing its cloak and domed head with a red wave over its mouth as the group gasped in surprise while Bailey spoke in awe.
"Uh... that's a big robot."
And she wasn't the only one who's shocked. When Ava noticed her, her eyes widened, receiving a brief flashback of that very robot that carried her as she cried. She knew more than ever who it was. Rexy tried to snap her out of it as he spoke.
"Hey, Ava. What's the matter with you?"
"It's him... i-it's the robot who left me in that car..."
That same robot began to speak in an automated voice as he went towards the group, mainly Tulip.
"This would've been so much easier for all of us if you had just stayed out. But instead, you go through car after car interfering with my plans, attacking my stewards for months. But despite all of that, I still wanted to help you. I sent the car to offer you your tapes, to live inside your happiest memories. But what'd you do with my gift? You reject it. And you continued to march against me. And now, look where you ended up."
"Who... who are you?"
As Bryce took a look at the robot, a theory began creeping up in his head as he spoke aloud.
"Unless I'm mistaken, that must be the Conductor."
This made Bailey gasp in shock as she beheld his fearsome appearance. Is that really the conductor her people had stories about? And if so, why would he ever let someone like Osore destroy the car she was naturally born in? It didn't add up. Maybe he could clarify it to her.
"The conductor...? But why would he...?"
Unable to let the opportunity for answers slide away, Bailey shouted to it.
"Is it true?!"
End Chrome Canyon Music: "Take What We Need (Unreleased Book 3 Music from The Origami Car)"
The robot turned over to Bailey, curious about what she must be prattling on about.
"What was that?"
"Are you really the Conductor?"
There was a brief moment of silence before it replied.
"Yes. What of it?"
"The truth is... I was hoping I could be able to talk to you."
The robot waited half a moment before he spoke again.
"Go on."
Bailey looked around at the carnage as she worked up the courage to say what was on her mind.
"What I wanted to know... is why you allowed Osore to attack us the way he did. My people in our car knew the stories, that the first person who stayed here worked with the Conductor to make life better for people who can't handle their own problems anymore. You used to help us..."
Bailey then tensed her clawed hand before she began to speak out of sadness and rage.
"But then, Osore came. He destroyed the car and almost everyone inside it...! That wasn't even the worst part. The Scarecrows followed his example and treated us like slaves to use for their own purpose! All I need to know is why! WHY DID YOU LET HIM HURT US LIKE THIS?!"
Bailey's voice echoed for a moment as Penny felt bad for her mother, putting on a sad frown as the silence hung on. Then, it was shattered with his voice.
"Is that even a question?"
Bailey looked up to her in surprise as she gasped before she answered.
"The truth is, you people are all just numbers to me and this train. The fact that you lack one proves how insignificant you are: you're worth even less than the passengers. Just another denizen."
This broke Bailey as she made a shuddering gasp before shaking her head and shouting to him.
"What about Aiden?! He knew I wasn't insignificant! If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have known about his world! I wouldn't have worked so hard to go with him!"
"I see. Such a pity that you will never be able to see it. Nor will you ever be able to see him. He's very well far away by now, far out of your reach. And he always will be..."
Bailey began to shed tears on her face as she began to sob. Bryce tried to comfort her as he went over to Bailey.
"Don't listen to him, Bailey. I know there's a way. There's just—"
Before Bryce could finish, Bailey began to shout at the Conductor.
"No...! No! I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! He'd never leave me!"
Osore sneered at the broken Bailey as he raised his claw.
"Believe it. You really thought you belonged out of this train? That possibility didn't exist in the first place!"
Osore tried to strike Bailey, only for Bryce to halt his claw with his sword before he retorted in Bailey's defense.
"You're wrong! She has just as much a right to get off this train! We're all gonna leave, together!"
Osore maintained his sneer as he spoke condescendingly before pausing as he began to speak in rising anger.
"Really? If that was the case... then what am I doing here?!"
Bryce was caught off-guard by his words before he was blindsided by his other claw, knocked down to the ground as Penny witnessed the altercation. She couldn't bear one second more of his suffering, and she quickly ran out to the field of battle.
"Bryce!"
While Penny ran away hard as she could, Osore was ready to deal the final blow as he spoke bitterly.
"I speak from experience, Mr. Gideon: there is no escape!"
Just before he could make the blow, Penny suddenly jumped on his chest, grabbing onto him by his neck as she shouted, straining as Osore tried to remove her hands off of him, but to no avail as she immediately clasped them back together.
"You big bully! Nobody messes... with my family... and gets... away with it!"
Seeing this with his own eyes, Bryce was dumbfounded, but despite his surprise, he tried to stop her.
"Penny, no! Get away from here!"
She didn't listen. Osore growled as he finally removed both her arms at once before gripping her by the collar of her shirt and spoke to her coldly.
"Alright! You want to play rough? How's this for rough?!"
Osore chucked Penny away with a heavy throw, tossing her straight at the exit door before the back of her head collided against it the edge of the doorknob, striking her head as well as giving it a sharp cut as she screamed in pain before the whole group, fighting or not, turned to see Penny laying just by the exit door. She didn't appear too hurt, but the small specks of blood that burst on the doorknob told otherwise. Bailey was struck with agony as she ran over to her.
"PENNY!"
Ava took notice of such a brutal force and ran over to Penny as well, leaving Rexy with One-One as he spoke worriedly.
"Hey! Get back here, Ava!"
Bailey began to cradle Penny in her arms as she tried to make sure she was alive
"Don't you die on me, Penny! You can't die!"
When Ava got to Penny, the little girl moaned as Ava knelt down. Bryce saw the whole thing. How could anyone be so vicious as to hurt a six-year-old girl like that?! Bryce snapped like a twig as he glared at Osore.
"YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"
Bryce quickly swung his sword at his face, knocking the visor clean off of him as he tried to hold his hand over his face.
"My face!"
But he didn't stop there: Bryce continued his aggravated assault, swinging his sword left and right as it tore through his cloak. While this happened, Penny moaned as she felt the pain numbing her senses and putting her closer to death as she spoke weakly.
"Mom...? Am... am I gonna...?"
"No! No, Penny you're not going to die! He promised!"
In her panic, Bailey looked at the back of her head and saw the laceration Osore caused. The damage didn't seem too bad, but it could be fatal if not treated properly. Quickly, she turned to Ava as she spoke.
"Ava, hold her head up! I don't have a lot of time here!"
Ava could tell where she was going with it. She helped patch up Bryce's wound from Mace after the Chrome Car. She must be trying to patch up Penny's wound, too. She didn't hesitate to help as she replied.
"Got it!"
Meanwhile, Bryce lashed viciously over and over at Osore with his cubed sword. In his blind rage, however, he didn't notice what was beyond the tears of Osore's cloak that he'd made, nor did he see Tulip getting scared over this dark side of him.
"Bryce, stop! You can't do this!"
Sadly, Bryce didn't hear her pleas. He continued until, finally, Osore was knocked to the ground. Bryce raised his sword and aimed it at his chest as he panted heavily in anger. After a moment, Bryce began to shout out in anger as he drove his sword at his chest with Tulip looking away, but before it could connect, Osore's right hand grabbed it, exposing a countless cluster of green numbers on his wrist. That's when Tulip and Bryce took notice of what was underneath the cloak as the former slowly opened her eyes and gasped in surprise.
His own eyes widened, too, as he noticed the numbers didn't stop at his wrist: they practically covered most of his whole body! Every slash Bryce has made on his sleeves, be it arms or legs, revealed those numbers in outrageously high quantity. Even worse, underneath that visor of his that Bryce knocked away were two red eyes with black pupils. One could assume they were filled with blood themselves. Bryce was at a loss for words as he spoke.
"You're... you're a passenger...?!"
"Of course I am, you fool!"
Osore then tossed his sword at the ground far away from them before knocking him away with a backhand to the ground adjacent to where his sword was before a shadow monster held his legs in place with a wicked smile as Tulip looked on in fear.
"Bryce!"
Osore stood over Bryce with a vicious glare as he spoke.
"I have to admit, I didn't think you had it in you. I can see why the cat was so scared of you before."
This made Bryce look up to him, maintaining his anger as he spoke coldly.
"And why would you tell me that?"
"Because fear can manipulate anyone and anything. The cat was no exception."
Unbeknownst to Osore, Ava was overhearing his words as he spoke on.
"After the last time you met, she was scared for her life, you see. She had no choice but to go to us to keep herself alive."
Bryce didn't consider it a surprise as he scoffed.
"Yeah, that sounds like something she'd do. But what difference does that make? Why should I care?"
Just then, as if on cue, a familiar voice rang out, making Bryce turn over to the figure as it crept out from the darkness.
"Because, Bryce... it's more personal to me than you could ever know."
Tulip and Bryce took notice of her and instantly became angry as they spoke intermittently.
"The cat!"
On the other hand, One-One, Ava, Bailey, Penny, and Rexy became more surprised than angry as Bailey spoke up.
"That cat's with them, too? What next?"
However, it wasn't as personal to her as it was for Ava. Her eyes were on the verge of shedding tears from that apparent betrayal as she spoke softly.
"Samantha...?"
The cat took notice of her, too, and widened her eyes as she spoke sadly.
"Mon enfant... you still remember me?"
"Remember? Of course, I remember! I... I never forgot you..."
As Ava was reeling from seeing her again, turning her head away as tears came out, Bailey and the recovering Penny looked to her in surprise as they spoke up in curiosity.
"Wait, you two know each other?"
"Ava... do you know the cat, too?"
"Yes. She's how I learned everything growing up. She wasn't my companion like Atticus is with you, but... she was my teacher. Then, one day when I was five... she left. I never saw her again. And I never knew why... until now."
With Ava now looking at her in a blend of sadness and anger, Samantha put on a look of guilt as she spoke up.
"Ava... I tried to come back to you."
"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU?! Were you just too busy ruining everyone else's lives to even think about going back to mine?! Was it how you've always been: a swindler?! Did you even... did you even care about me at all?
Samantha held her head down in shame with a weak meow before the Conductor spoke again.
"Of course not. And even if she did, it never was her place to be your teacher. You deserved better than that con artist to begin with."
Ava began to look around at the others, having suffered heavy and nearly fatal damage around her. Then, she looked down to Penny, her head still recovering from Osore's attack and her bandage wrapped around her forehead and the back of her head as she saw the sadness in the cat's face. She had a look of worry for her as she spoke to Ava.
"Ava... it's not her fault. She missed you... I can tell..."
Ava then looked back to the cat and saw that same sadness as well. Even after getting her head bashed into the door, she still saw the good in the people she meets. That's how pure she was. Ava had to admit it; she was jealous of her for that. Still, she saw her point. It's not like Samantha wanted to be away from her as long as she was. But it didn't mean Osore was wrong.
"So... now that I've tracked them down for you, may I go? I have a lot of lost time to make up for with her..."
The Conductor sneered down towards her as he spoke.
"That depends: where's the robot?"
Tulip gasped while she and Bryce looked behind her to see Rexy holding One-One in his claws as the latter shook nervously. They recognized how much danger he was in, and they knew he had to get away.
"One-One, Rexy, run!"
"Get out of here, you two!"
Rexy nodded as he glared at the Conductor before he spoke, giving him a rude hand gesture as he did.
"You'll never take us alive!"
Rexy then ran inside the slide with One-One in tow as the Conductor spoke coldly.
"Bring the robot to me... and then I give you your freedom."
Tulip could only assume that what he had planned couldn't be anything good, and tried to break out of the steward's grip.
"No!"
When she tried, it only got more difficult as it wrapped another arm around her upper body, restricting her movement further while Bryce tried to go after them next, only to be stuck by his shadow as he grunted while Samantha argued with the Conductor.
"That wasn't what we agreed to. I found them; that was the deal. I did my job!"
"Your job is to follow directions. And I am directing you."
Unable to talk back to the Conductor's cold demeanor, the cat meowed weakly as she went into the slide after Rexy and One-One. While she walked in the slide, she looked back where Ava was and took a deep breath before she gave chase. It wasn't long before the cat took notice of them just ahead of her as she shouted.
"Wait, stop!"
Rexy took notice of Samantha and growled as he spoke.
"Stay back, traitor! I'll have you know that I never liked ya!"
"And I wouldn't blame you, but you and the ball need to get out!"
Outside, Osore made a smirk as he caught wind that the cat's true purpose for the Conductor was taking effect, seeing her silhouette near Rexy and One-One.
"I think she's close enough. Time for some... target practice."
This made Ava widen her eyes in fear as she made a light gasp while the Conductor spoke.
"I couldn't agree more."
With that, he made a signal before the steward acted accordingly, drawing out two guns from its eyes.
Inside, the cat heard the sound and gasped, making Rexy confused as he'd heard that sound, too.
"Uh, what was that?"
"We have to run! NOW!"
And not a moment too soon, for the steward began to fire at the slides, making Rexy duck as he held One-One in his claws while Samantha ran behind him, trying to avoid the gunfire that aimed to hit her as Tulip shouted in fear.
"No! One-One!"
During the concentrated fire, some of the bullets flew upward, hitting the slide above them as well before they began to zip up in front of the path Rexy took making him
Anxious as he ran before Samantha ran just as quickly before shoving Rexy and One-One past it as the slide began to give way with the bullets having stopped mere seconds ago as Samantha looked to them sadly.
"If I don't make it... tell Ava I'm sorry."
Suddenly, the slide began to fall apart with Samantha going down with it, surprising One-One and Rexy as they gasped before the dinosaur looked down at the wreckage. He couldn't see any trace of her.
"Samantha...!"
Meanwhile, the rest of the group couldn't see beyond the smoke that billowed out from the collapsing wreckage and assumed the worst as Bryce glared at the Conductor while Bailey, Penny, and Ava looked on in horror as he and Tulip shouted.
"You monster!"
"ONE-ONE!"
The steward then held Tulip in front of the Conductor as he spoke condescendingly before Osore walked towards her.
"And that leaves you all alone..."
"It could've been different, but you had to put yourself before the others."
Tulip glared at Osore and snapped at him amidst her tears.
"YOU KILLED MY FRIENDS!"
"That was your own fault, little flower. Just like it was your fault that I'm here!"
Tulip began to get confused as her angry face softened.
"Wha...? What are you talking about?"
Osore made an exasperated sigh as he looked to her.
"You really haven't figured that out, yet? Doesn't my face ring any bells to you?"
The longer Tulip looked at his face, the more familiar it began to get. She wasn't certain before, even with the faint memory of it that surged when she resisted Chain's attempt to control her. But now, she knew her mind wasn't playing tricks. She made a loud gasp as she realized who Osore really was.
"You're Mr. Jackson! Y-You went missing for almost ten years!"
"So, you do remember me? For a moment, I couldn't remember you when we first met. With how much I changed, I guess it should come as no surprise."
"B-But I don't understand. Why are you here?"
"Don't you see? I'm here because of you. You always called me a scaredy-cat when you were a child. But, given how timid I used to be, I suppose you thought it was endearing. For a moment, I did, too. But it didn't change how rotten my life was. How angry it made me. My life was rotten because I was a coward, and you had the nerve to remind me of it every single day! You always told me to stand up for myself. And I did, with blood-stained hands. Then, the train arrived. It took time, of course, to study and understand its purpose; to change the person into the better half of themselves, then finally... to lose myself in order to become... this."
Tulip was trembling in the steward's grip as her anger was rising.
"Is that why you killed my friends?! Because I called you a scaredy-cat?!"
"No. It wasn't personal, really. Besides, that was your fault. And I'm no outlier, either. They had a place on this train, and you took them out of it. You brought them here! You put them in that position!"
"They were trying to help me!"
"They were. And look what happened. Wake up and face reality, Tulip. You are a burden. You've been a burden to me just like you were a burden to your friends. A burden... is all you'll ever be..."
Meanwhile, in the slide, Rexy and One-One witnessed the confession from above as Tulip began to shed her tears and turned her head away and became worried for her as Glad One spoke.
"We've got to save Ms. Tulip and the others."
"Well, duh. But how are we gonna get down there?"
In that moment, Atticus went up near them as he spoke.
"Perhaps I can be of assistance."
Down below, Tulip was trying to hold back her tears to no avail as the Conductor got out a pink handkerchief and wiped them as he spoke.
"Aw... no more tears."
After the tears were wiped, Osore cupped his right hand on her left cheek before gently turning it to his face as she sniffled lightly with Ava eyeing Bryce's sword on the ground.
"You've always been a burden, Tulip. But it doesn't have to be that way. You helped me change before... it's only right that I help you change, too."
As Tulip gazed into his blood red eyes, Rexy shouted from above as he held his claws out.
"Change this!"
Rexy piled onto Osore, making him grunt before the shadow monster disappeared, releasing Bryce before he looked to his sword only for Ava to pick it up as he, Bailey, and Penny looked on as she tried to go after Tulip and set her free as she shouted.
"Let her go right now!"
The Conductor only beeped his signal before the steward gripped Ava by her foot and lifted her up, making her drop the sword near Bryce before wrapping her whole body just as Atticus suddenly leapt on the Conductor and tore at the wires on his left side before the Conductor grabbed him by his back as he barked, making Tulip scared to death as she shouted.
"Atticus, no!"
At the same time, Osore extricated Rexy from him as he tossed him aside to the ground where he landed beside Bailey and Penny as they checked on him.
"Rexy!"
"Are you alright?"
Rexy got up weakly on his legs, but he wasn't as dazed as when he was electrocuted before in the Paradise Car.
"More or less... where's Ava?"
Bailey, Penny, and Bryce looked on to the scene in worry just as Rexy took notice as the Conductor glared at Ava and Tulip.
Play Henry Jackman Music: "Silent Sparrow (2:40-3:43)"
"You will cease your journey."
"Not a chance!"
"Why should we listen to you?!"
There was a brief pause before the Conductor spoke again.
"Because I'm the Conductor. And my word... is final."
The Conductor moved his other arm to get out a large gun before aiming it at Atticus, making Tulip and Bryce gasp in fear as Atticus turned to them with a small whine. The Conductor made no hesitation to pull the trigger, blasting a beam of blue light on him at point blank range as Atticus yelped.
"Ow!"
The crown dropped to the ground with smoke coming out of it before his own body fell next with a thud and an "oof!" as smoke billowed out from him as well. Tulip and Ava's eyes were widened as the former shouted.
"ATTICUS!"
The Conductor gave a beeping signal before the steward dropped Tulip while still carrying Ava as they walked away from her, leaving her to cradle Atticus in her arms as she spoke weakly.
"Atticus..."
At the same time, Bryce was trying to stand up with his sword in hand before the Conductor pointed his hand at the ceiling, to which it grabbed at the leftover slides before pulling them down, causing them to fall down as Khaki went down in the ball pit with the steward then wrapping itself around the Conductor and carrying him and Ava as they went out of the exit door, zipping past Bailey, Penny, and Rexy as the trio looked on to see them going away before Rexy shouted for her.
"AVA!"
Then, they heard the debris rumbling above them before seeing them fall down, causing the trio to move away from the exit just as they came crashing down. All the while, as Bryce stood up with his sword, recovering from the shadow monster's right trap, Tulip cradled Atticus as she spoke sadly and in a hoarse voice.
"Atticus... Hey. It's okay, it's okay..."
Suddenly, Atticus' head stretched farther with his eyes narrowing down before Tulip quickly chucked him away in reaction to the sudden growth. And it got worse... suddenly, within the smoke he was tossed into, Atticus grew a small antenna that flailed about and his white paw grew larger while corroding into a black color. His howl turned into a screech as he then zipped up into the air. In Atticus' place was the same monster that Tulip and Bryce had met before. And the first person it pounced on... was Tulip. All she could do was turn her head away as it towered above her. Seeing this, Bryce grew very angry as he saw the beast sucking the life out of Tulip.
As Tulip began to wither, Bryce yelled at the top of his lungs as he charged at the beast before whacking it with his cubed sword, knocking it far away before it landed near a broken slide. With tears of rage in his eyes, Bryce shouted again as he rushed at the beast that went after him. Just as it leaped at him, Bryce hit it on the head, slamming it down to the ground, giving him the opportunity to stab at it. And he didn't hesitate. Bryce quickly impaled the creature over and over with a fit of anger, much to Tulip's horror as she shouted at him.
"BRYCE, STOP! THAT'S ATTICUS!"
Overhearing her anguished shout, Bryce stopped dead in his tracks before panting, holding his sword back the instant he heard those words as he gazed at the broken body of the beast that was formerly the Corgi King. Seeing such a devastating toll he dished out on him made him numb as he tried to gain control of his breathing, but with much difficulty.
End Henry Jackman Music: "Silent Sparrow (2:40-3:43)"
While Bryce began to realize what a terrible mistake he'd made, the beast chirped softly as something bizarre happened: the wounds it was given were slowly going away, the parts of the shell that were out of place from his attack popping back where they should. To his shock, the dents he made were gone!
"Are you kidding me?!"
The beast growled at Bryce with a vengeance before he ran with Tulip running just ahead of him into the purple slide. While they ran, Penny saw the whole thing and became worried as she spoke up.
"We've gotta save them!"
As the beast went up the slide, Rexy took notice of a broken slide with one end closed off while the other was completely open with a door and mirror just hanging above. This gave him an idea as he spoke.
"Don't worry. I know just what to do."
Meanwhile, Tulip quickly ran up, as did Bryce, but he was quickly pulled down by one of its antenna, making him exclaim as he looked down to see his foot near its head before he kicked at it.
"Just stay down, will you?!"
Fortunately, just in the nick of time, One-One was waltzing by before noticing the two of them.
"Ms. Tulip! Mr. Bryce!"
"One-One!"
"You're still alive?!"
The beast chirped below them before Rexy shouted at him.
"Hey, Ghom!"
The Ghom turned around, seeing Rexy standing in front of the slide with Bailey on top of the slide while Penny was on top of her as he glared at it.
"Come get some!"
The Ghom accepted the challenge as it ran towards Rexy before right there, just at the last second, he moved out of the way, the Ghom barreling past him into the slide before sliding as Penny shouted.
"Mom! Do it quick! He got in!"
On top of the slide, Bailey pushed down on the window before it closed itself on the Ghom, trapping it inside as it chirped and growled before Tulip and Bryce went over to them with the former holding One-One in her hands with while Rexy sighed.
"That was close."
While the monster clawed at the window, Tulip was catching her breath as Bryce looked at the monster that used to be Atticus. It made his hand tremble as he looked to it, but when he did... he noticed a frightening development: his number went up from a "2" to a "382". And it didn't stop there; Bryce pulled down his sleeve to find that it went up all the way to his wrist, just halfway to his elbow. It made him give a gasp to himself as he put his sleeve back down. He was certain it was way lower than that before today. As much as he wanted to figure it out, though, there was a more important matter to think about. Rexy knew it just as well.
"So... what do we do now?"
Bailey couldn't find a way to answer it as she dwelt on what the Conductor did and said to them.
"I... I don't know."
It wasn't long before Tulip began to break down softly, struggling to hold back her sobs, much to Bryce's sympathy as he and One-One's sad side spoke softly.
"It's okay to cry."
"Tulip... I didn't mean to—"
Before he could finish, Tulip didn't hesitate to hug him as she sobbed on Bryce's shoulder before he returned the gesture with a sad look on his face as Penny, Bailey, and Rexy gave her their own hugs as the trapped Ghom snarled at them, trying desperately to catch its prey that's far beyond its reach...
A/N: And there you have it. The storm has passed. But it's only going to go downhill from here. And, of course, we have yet to encounter Night Shroud. Come next episode, though, you'll see her again. ;)