"What…?" The girl asks. She knew what her mother had said, but her mind rejected the words.
"You're going to have a new baby brother soon." She says once more, tenderly rubbing her stomach. "Your father and I were just at the doctor's-"
"Step-father." The girl interrupts. The mother sighs.
"Yes, your step-father." The girl turns back to her book, trying to drown out the rest of her mother's words. As the woman keeps talking however, the young girl can't stop the anger in her chest from rising. Her hands grip the pages tightly with barely contained fury.
"In about two months, we're going to have a new addition to the family. Isn't that lovely? It's been so quiet around here ever since Leon went off to college, so hopefully-"
"So you're replacing him?" The girl spits out, unable to hold in the venom.
"What?" The woman flinches, clearly not used to this behavior. "Of course not-"
"Yes you are! You always do this!" She shouts, slamming the table. "You replace everything I care about. Home, school, my friends, dad, and now Leon. Why is nothing ever good enough for you to leave it alone!?"
"That's enough!" The woman shouts. Despite her anger, the girl flinches back at the authoritative tone. "Clio, go to your room. We'll talk about your attitude later."
Shaking, barely able to hold back tears, Clio stomps off to her bedroom and slams the door behind her. After locking it to prevent pests from getting in, she breaks down and cries on her bed. Her pillow muffles her sobs at first, before another sound drowns them out.
With eyes stinging, she lifts her head up at the sound of a loud whistle. Before her very eyes, a massive train painted with pastel colors appeared before her in her very own room. She wipes her eyes, confusion overwriting sadness as she stares at the bizarre sight.
She takes trembling steps, walking right up to it to look inside. A green light overtakes her form, and…
Princess blinks. The tape had booted her out of the memory, having reached its end. All that played on the screen now was static.
She was left sitting on the comfortable bed of their hotel room, Irvin on the other resting just as soundly as he had been when she started. Quiet, so as not to wake him, she walks to the television and ejects the tape. She drags it back into the drawer Irvin had left it in, and returns to her mattress.
Even after closing her eyes, the scenes she watched replay in her mind until sleep eventually wins out.
...
Irvin awoke to a light thumping on the door. As much as he didn't want to leave the bed, not answering it would be pretty rude.
Yawning, he slides himself onto the ground and wakes up his legs. Peeking over, he could see Princess still sleeping peacefully, undisturbed by the knocks. Pangs of jealousy cross his mind at the sight.
Oh well, he was already up. With that thought, he walks over and opens the door. On the other side is a holographic waiter, projected from a small metal shell with wheels below it. "Mr. Kemp?" He asks.
"That's m-me." Irvin replies. The hologram reaches to his side, and pulls over a small cart of food. Irvin didn't quite understand the technology on how these people were able to interact with physical items despite being projections, but chose to write it off as more impossible train logic. If a mirror can reflect your idealized self, and animals can talk, then a hologram may as well be able to push a cart.
He steps aside, allowing the waiter to push his cart into the room. "You requested room service and a nine AM wake-up last night. We have pancakes and eggs for the gentleman, and for the lady a small sampling of cheeses and pureed berries."
"Thank you." Irvin says. Getting treated this well by staff always felt a little awkward, since it was kindness he wasn't expected to pay back. Especially not in this car, since everything from their room to their food was provided free of charge.
The waiter carefully sets their dishes on the table, along with silverware and a bottle of sparkling grape juice. He then excuses himself, leaving Irvin alone with the delectable dishes and sleeping beauty.
"Princess? B-Breakfast." Irvin whispers, gently shaking the mouse awake. She groans, swiping at Irvin's finger to try and make him stop. His persistence wins out in the end, and she joins Irvin in the world of the conscious. Judging from her vacant expression and sluggish movements, it was obvious that she could use a few more hours of rest.
"...wuzzit…?" She mumbles, her swaying body threatening to fall back down to her pillow.
Irvin sets the smaller plate in front of her. "Are you hungry?"
"...mm" She sniffs the air. Her eyes snap open suddenly. Quickly and with little refinement, she stuffs her face with various types of cheese. More of the berry puree dipping sauce ends up on her face than in her mouth.
Irvin couldn't help but chuckle. "What h-happened to table manners?"
Without even stopping to swallow, she glances over at him and bluntly answers. "Mn nawt at a tabow." (Translation: I'm not at a table)
Normally, this would be where Irvin points out the hypocrisy of her talking with food in her mouth. Princess' face would flush, she would whip up an excuse, and he'd laugh at her antics. But today was different. Irvin instead frowns with disappointment.
It had been a week since Rico had left them, and Princess had been acting… off, ever since then. This was just another example of that. Normally she'd put so much effort into being proper that it seemed perfectly natural. Now, she was shoveling food into her mouth so fast that she resembled an orange cat more than a pink mouse.
Irvin sighs, thinking it unwise to question her while she was exhausted. "R-R-Right. Well, w-when in Rome…"
He takes his plate of pancakes to his bed. They smelled perfect, and the chocolate chips baked inside made him all the more eager to dig in. Following in Princess' example, he sits down in his bed and starts shoving cakes into his face with little regard for decency. Between bites, he chugs mouthfuls of syrup.
This came far too naturally to him. Princess needed to recover fast, before they both succumbed to the bachelor lifestyle.
Princess had cleared her plate already, and had scuttled off to the bathroom to wash the sauce out of her fur.
"Any plans for today?" Irvin calls out. A faucet turns off, and she comes out rubbing her face with a personally sized towel.
"No." She unenthusiastically replies. "Are we leaving soon?"
"A-A-Actually, I w-wanted to explore this car a bit more. It's pretty big." He reaches over to grab a pamphlet off the nightstand, flipping through it. "I wanted to t-try getting a massage later, since I p-probably never will when I'm off the train. Other than that, I'm n-not really sure. This car has a lot of f-facilities worth visiting. M-Movie theater, indoor water park, gym- th-they even have an arcade! If it's a-anywhere near as good as the l-last one, this might steal best car."
"If you say so."
He brings the pamphlet over to her, forcing her to read it. "Come on, why d-don't you pick something? I think y-you'll like it."
"It's fine. I'm not in the mood right now-"
"Then pick f-for me. I c-can't decide on what to do, so just p-pick something that I can do for fun. W-With you there in my pocket of c-course."
She rolls her eyes, completely aware of what Irvin was trying to do. With a sigh, she reads through the event list. "...The orchestra performance sounds enjoyable. They'll be playing this afternoon at the theatre."
Irvin grimaces to himself while she isn't looking. He wasn't much of a classical music fan, so he could already feel how bored he was going to be at that show. But since it was the only thing he'd gotten her to choose, he had no choice but to grin and bear it this time.
That didn't mean he was above trying to make her change her mind. "I was already thinking of heading there later for their showing of," he rereads the name of whatever was following the orchestra at that location, "The Train and You by One-one."
Princess' face contorts with disgust suddenly. "I would avoid it if I were you. From what I've heard, it's a 'Drawn out cringefest akin to a five year-old trying to rap'. The other accounts I've heard were too foul to repeat."
"That bad?" Okay, maybe the orchestra wouldn't be too intolerable. Comparatively speaking.
"Worse." She chuckles, before a yawn cuts her off.
As she fights off the urge to lie back down, Irvin asks, "didn't s-sleep well?"
"What makes you think that?" It was hard to take that question seriously when she looked as bad as she did.
"I used to b-be a college student. I can recognize the s-signs."
"Well for your information, I slept perfectly fine last night." She punctuates that obviously false claim with another yawn.
He raises an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Of course! We've never had beds this comfortable, and I've slept perfectly well before. So why would last night be any different?"
Her logic made sense, but it didn't distract Irvin from the obvious falsehood. Even if it made sense for her to sleep well, her face and yawns told a different story.
She had a point though. "Why indeed…?" Irvin mused.
...
MASSAGES. ARE. AMAZING!
As the masseuse did her magic on his back, Irvin felt more comfortable than he'd felt at any other point in his entire life. The tension in his body seemed to melt away under her firm but precise touch. His mind fogged, unable to work under the overdose of pleasure being sent through him.
"Is this to your liking?" The woman above him asks, flickering as she speaks. Every worker in this hotel seemed to be a holographic projection, just like the waiter from before.
"Mmmmmmmmmnnnn~" Those aren't words Irvin. Use your words. "yuss."
"Then I will continue!" Her hands press into his back, and suddenly he realized that he was in heaven. The lack of clouds or winged angels had him confused at first, but clearly this was heaven.
And yet, after about a half hour, he was told that the massage was finished. Hearing that felt like learning that Santa wasn't real, magic didn't exist, and the family dog needed to be put down all at once.
With a heavy heart, he picks himself up onto legs made of jelly, changes back into clothes which had been washed for him during the massage (something desperately needed since they were the only thing he'd worn in the past month), and walks out into the main room. A different employee was waiting for him there, and quickly walks up to Irvin.
"Ah, excuse me? Your friend, she…" He holds out his hands, revealing Princess to be sleeping in them. "She only lasted three minutes, and she's been like this since then. Do you want me to take her back to your room?"
He shakes his head and holds out a hand. The masseuse slides her into it, before Irvin tucks her into his front pocket. "Thank y-you. She'll b-be fine, she just didn't sleep well l-last night."
He walks out, wondering what to do next. Sure, there was plenty left to explore, but it felt wrong to look around without Princess. After all… They hadn't talked about it yet, but this was it, wasn't it?
The whole reason Princess had joined him in the first place was to find the car of her dreams. She's still kind of out of things right now (not just because she's asleep), but as far as Irvin could tell this car met all of the qualifications. Employees serving on holographic hand and foot, high class atmosphere, basically all of the finer things in life you could ask for… This was the car she'd been dreaming about from the moment he'd met her.
But right now, she was so bummed out about Rico leaving that she hadn't even realized they were standing in the middle of paradise. He couldn't leave things like that.
Don't get him wrong, Irvin loved traveling with her. Princess is his friend, and he wants to do right by her. Even if it meant he'd be on his own after this car...
A tired mouse wasn't going to appreciate anything, so waking her up now wouldn't help things. So the best thing he could do now is...
…
Princess pokes her head out of Irvin's pocket, an air of refreshment about her. She looks around, trying to get a grasp of their location.
"It's the theatre."
She looks up to see Irvin sitting down with the most bored expression she'd ever seen. "I f-figured you'd want to catch the show w-when you woke up, so I came here early."
"The show was at noon Irvin. How early are we?"
"Well, I c-came here a little after leaving that massage parlor, s-so… About two hours."
"...Was there at least anything scheduled before the performance?"
"No."
She runs a hand down her face. "Do I even want to know why you've subjected yourself to a torturous wait in a car filled with so many other things to do?"
He laughs. "You won't l-like the reason."
"I know. Please just say it so that I can be disappointed."
"I d-didn't want to check anything e-else out without you."
Both of her hands were on her face now. "Darn it… That's sweet, but darn it Irvin! Don't do that to yourself."
"A few hours t-too late on that advice…" He says with a weak chuckle.
She lets the topic drop for a moment, as she gazes around the room. Many of the other seats were taken by denizens. Some of them being ones they'd met before. The foolish giraffe from The Big Blue Beetle Car, a queen and pawn couple they'd seen at The Comic Car, and a group of kids from The Grade School Car stood out to her. The room was rather packed.
"How long until the show begins?" She asks. Irvin doesn't have to answer, as the lights in the room begin to dim. It was starting…
A holographic man dressed in a suit takes center stage with a large curtain behind him. After the complete lack of stimulation that encompassed his past few hours, Irvin was a little excited for the musical performance he previously loathed.
"I have an unfortunate announcement!" The man begins. "Due to recent complications, the band scheduled to perform today has not arrived at this time."
A murmur sweeps the room. The man on stage goes. "To make up for this misfortune, our actors have agreed to put on an extra performance of The Train and You at this time slot, which we will now be moving forward with. We hope that this substitution makes up for the inconvenience."
He feels Princess grab his shirt with both hands. "Irvin, run." She immediately says, taking on a serious tone. "Get up and leave."
"...I-Is it really that bad?" Irvin asks, somewhat hesitant to leave a show he just waited two hours for.
As the curtains start to be drawn open, she grabs his cheeks and stares straight into his eyes. He sees the fear in her expression, as a techno beat starts to come from the stage.
Surely… Surely it wasn't that bad… Right?
"YO YO YOOOOOOO! WE TALKIN' TRAINS AND TRAIN ADJACENT TOPICS!"
Irvin leaves his seat and bolts for the door with a haste found only in those fleeing for their lives.
…
Following that horrible incident, Irvin had retreated to the lobby. He had run until his ears couldn't pick up even the slightest hint of that "music". What little he had heard felt like poison in his mind. He wasn't a drinker, but he was very tempted to start in an attempt to destroy every brain cell that was involved in remembering that.
"You w-were right, that sounded terrible."
"I didn't doubt the accounts I heard, but it's good to have confirmation." She says, sighing. "Why don't we just collect our things and leave? I think I've seen enough of this car."
"Huh? But we haven't even seen half of th-this place yet."
"So? The door is unlocked, isn't it?" She was right about that. Both the entrance and exit doors were easy to locate, and neither were locked off. They could leave whenever they wanted. The problem was: Princess shouldn't want to leave at all!
"Well y-yeah… I just think we s-should try to look around a little more. Try some more fun things b-before the next car throws something boring at us, like stamp collecting."
"Danger would be my top concern. But fine. Whatever makes you happy. You're the passenger."
"Does… that m-matter?" Irvin asks. It was strange to hear Princess bring it up like that. Other denizens mention it all the time, usually either to toss him responsibility or give him benefits, but Princess didn't mention it often. Especially not like that.
She doesn't respond. Much as he wanted to question her, he drops the issue. Arguing with Princess wasn't going to fix things. Showing her a good time might.
Visiting the arcade would be ill-advised. This all started after they left Rico at The Arcade Car. Needless to say, it would be rubbing salt in the wound. Instead, he decides that the indoor waterpark was their best option. Last time they all visited a beach car together, he remembers her having a good time.
One problem, Irvin couldn't remember where it was. The solution was obvious though. They were right in the front lobby, so he could just ask the man sitting at the front desk.
There wasn't a line to reach him, thankfully. Perhaps every other guest in the car was sitting through that abomination in the theatre? Irvin wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he walks straight up. "C-Could you tell me which way the waterpark is?"
"Oh that? Just down the hall, make a left, then a right, take the elevator down, and you're there!" The attendant says, pointing down a hallway. "Here, I have a few maps I can show you on, just a minute…"
The holographic attendant starts digging around underneath his desk. Irvin thinks about starting up a conversation with Princess, but he wasn't even sure what to say with how she'd been acting. Like, what was even a good topic right now? Probably nothing about Rico or her, but generic small talk felt wrong too. Was he thinking about this too hard? Yes, absolutely, but even realizing that he was thinking too hard about it didn't fix anything because he was stuck in a loop-
His thoughts are cut off when he glances to his left and notices a cat staring at him in deep contemplation on the desk. Its fur was beige, and it wore a deep purple suit jacket with black accents and bowtie. Between the distinct outfit and its thoughtful expression, Irvin mentally prepared himself for it to start talking.
Sure enough, it speaks up with a rather sophisticated feminine voice. "Pardon moi, but have we met in the past? There's something familiar about you that I can't seem to place."
That wasn't at all what Irvin thought she was going to ask. Not that he knew what to expect, but certainly not that. "No, I d-don't think so."
"Got it!" The clerk interrupts, popping up with a pamphlet in hand. He circles part of the map before handing it off to Irvin.
The cat walks along the desk, while Irvin thanks the clerk. She tilts her head, inspecting him from other angles. "Inhabituelle… I'm usually quite skilled at remembering names and faces, and yet I can't remember meeting someone like you before. Why do you suppose that is?"
"Um…" He wasn't sure what to say to that. He went with nothing.
"Hmm." The cat frowns, jumping to the floor and circling Irvin. Her eyes squint, examining every detail for some clue as to what the meaning of her mistake could be. After a few sweeps, she sighs and admits defeat. "I suppose it's nothing. With so many passengers coming aboard every day, one or two are bound to look alike after a while."
"Oh. O-Okay…" He rubs the back of his neck, not knowing where to go from there.
His pocket suddenly starts shifting. The cat pauses, staring at it. She leans back as soon as Princess sticks her head out, the two staring at each other.
"Cat?" Princess whispers under her breath. "The Cat!" She leaps right out of his pocket to join her on the floor.
The feline was similarly ecstatic. "La Souris! Color me surprised. I didn't expect to see you here. Though the atmosphere does suit you."
Princess hops right onto the cat's head, giving Irvin a mild heart attack. Classic cartoons like Tom and Jerry gave him a very different impression of how well these two species got along. The cat lets her land safely though, not complaining at all. No attempts to eat her, she even bowed her head a bit to make it a shorter leap.
"You wouldn't say that if you knew what they were using their theatre for right now." She says.
The cat laughs. "I heard the band was running late. Quite the unfortunate substitution they've made though."
"Unfortunate is a kinder word than I would use." Princess adds to both of their delight. "How have you been? Partaken in any interesting ventures recently?"
"Naturally. In fact, I think you would find my current business particularly entertaining." She looks like she's about to start telling a story, but pauses. She looks up at Irvin, examining the man once again. "But what about you? I see you've made a new friend. Who is this…"
She makes a face like someone who wanted to say something nice, but saw nothing to compliment. Irvin completely felt for her, knowing that he lacked positives worth mentioning.
"...rather tall fellow." Is what she settles on.
Princess gives him a look, silently nudging him to introduce himself. "Uh, h-hi there. My name's Irvin."
He takes a knee and sticks a hand out. The cat places a paw into it. "Irvin?" She repeats, giving him a curious stare once more. "Even the name... Are you sure we haven't met before?"
Irvin shakes his head. "S-Sorry, I don't know w-what it could be. I've never met you before. W-Who are you- I mean, what's y-your name."
Princess climbs up Irvin's arm to his shoulder. "Irvin, this is The Cat."
"The Cat? L-Like, the 'The' is part of the name?" Irvin asks.
The Cat breaks the hand/paw shake and answers him. "Why yes. Though I suppose you could shorten it to just Cat if you simply must, but I quite prefer the full title. It has a rather… exclusive feel to it."
"You could just let people use your real name." Princess points out, much to the cat's (or, The Cat's?) displeasure. The old kitten's face scrunches up with disgust at the implication alone. "Ah, I see you still aren't a fan of it?"
"My feelings are completely justified, so there's no reason for them to change." The Cat insists, crossing her front legs.
The way they talked to each other made it pretty clear, but Irvin asked anyways. "Y-You two are friends?"
"We go back quite some time." Princess says. "She and I are actually from the same train car."
His immediate thought is the Barnyard Car where he and Princess met. He then throws that thought away, remembering what she'd said back at the Comic Car. It was where Irvin met her, but that wasn't where she came from.
"How about you two? I see your number is at," The Cat leans over, peeking at Irvin's hand, "325. How long have the two of you been together for?"
"A little over a month. P-Princess was in my first car, s-so she was with me the entire time."
"Ah, depuis le début. How nice it must have been to have a companion from the start."
"Y-Yeah…" Irvin mutters. "She's pretty much the o-only reason I left the pod."
She pauses at that. "I see…" Her attention turns to Princess, still sat on his shoulder. "Tell me, whatever happened to that last boy? Did he find his exit?"
Princess freezes, while Irvin confusedly replies for her. "Huh? Yeah, he g-got his door about a week ago. How did you know about th-that? We never met you w-while Rico was with us."
"Rico?" Now The Cat's face matched Irvin's, both shooting looks of confusion. Why was she surprised at the name, she was the one who brought him up.
Before Irvin can question it, Princess cuts in. "He's not here anymore." She says, before quickly clarifying, "he went home."
The Cat narrows her eyes at the mouse for a moment, before shaking her head. Whatever questions she had seemed to be answered, leaving Irvin the only one still puzzled by the interaction. "Ah, how fortunate for him. Not all who come aboard the train are destined to return, so those who do should count their blessings."
Giving the two of them one last look, The Cat turns around and heads for the door. "It's been a lovely chat, but I think it's about time that I depart. Don't worry, I believe we'll meet again very soon."
Irvin wasn't sure if that was reassuring or ominous with how she said it.
The Cat leaps at the door, and catches the handle with her paws. It opens for her. She gives a courteous bow to the pair before walking out.
Princess lets out a content sigh. "It's always nice to catch up with her. A shame our meetings are as spontaneous as they often are short."
"This is where c-cell phones would probably come in handy." Irvin says. "By the way, what was she talking about before-"
"Forget about that." She says. The tone is casual, yet it feels like a direct order coming from her. "Weren't you saying we should check out the waterpark?"
"I thought you didn't c-care about it?"
"Well…" She looks away, but Irvin still catches her smile. "My mood's picked up a little."
Irvin was grinning with her at that. This was where the fun would begin!
…
This was where Irvin would die!
"Why d-d-did I let you t-talk me into th-this?" Was he stuttering more than usual? That was probably because he was staring down his imminent demise.
"Because my judgement is always right." She jokes, far more casually than one facing their death should. "Besides, the waterpark was your idea, wasn't it? Didn't you plan to go down a few slides?"
"Th-This isn't a s-s-slide! I-It's death! Certain death!"
Every big waterpark had that one slide. The one that was too tall, too steep, and too scary for any sane person to ever go down. Usually it was just a straight shot, because why bother with the pretense of fun when the goal of the slide is clearly just to kill anyone dumb enough to go down it?
The slide Irvin and Princess were about to go down was that slide, except steeper. It was less a slide than it was a vertical drop with water at the bottom.
"Annnnd clear!" The lifeguard calls out, waving for them to go. Irvin's hands stayed firmly gripped to the sides, fear paralyzing him.
"Come now, Irvin. We've seen countless people ride this already and come away just fine. What makes you think that you'll be the exception?"
"I w-won't fall for your logic! I can s-see the grim r-reaper waiting for us down there!"
"I'm sure that denizen is perfectly friendly, despite his skeletal appearance. It's rude to judge, Irvin."
…
Defying all odds, Irvin survived. He threw up in a trash can afterwards, but he did survive. Technically. Mentally, it felt like he never came back from that slide.
Since he'd emptied his stomach, the buffet seemed like the best place to stop next. Though after breakfast, he was a little disappointed at the thought. Breakfast was so good, but buffet food was usually cheap and left to sit out for long periods to cut costs. You were paying for a lot of food, not a lot of good food.
The smells that hit them when he opened the door made him regret ever doubting this car. As if they would skimp on anything for even a moment.
"Hey, Princess?"
"Yes?"
"D-Do you think this train is t-turning me into a glutton? I mean, since there are sometimes l-long stretches where we don't find anything to eat, I know I tend to take a little more than u-usual when we finally do get a meal. But I'm not g-going overboard, r-right?"
She has to lean over to meet his eyes, the immense pile of food on his plate blocking her view.
"No, not at all."
…
Irvin felt ready to lie down after his perfectly reasonably sized meal, but Princess still wanted to look around. They compromised, and agreed to check out the movie theater.
Of course, choosing to watch a movie still left one important question to be argued. What genre? It was the classic debate. Choose poorly, and your evening is ruined. The debates that arise out of this topic could be fierce, brutal, and at times desperate. Nobody is willing to back down in a battle of how the next 90 minutes of their lives would be spent.
"Irvin dear, why don't we check out a romantic comedy?"
"Yeah, okay."
...If you just so happen to agree though, then that resolves things rather nicely, doesn't it?
…
Walking out of the theater, you and Princess gab about the film.
"I wouldn't have thought those two would get together in the end." Princess admits. "They just seemed too different for a relationship to work."
"I s-saw it coming. It's k-kind of a cliche for movies like this."
"Really? I haven't seen very many, so I wouldn't know."
"Yeah. 9 out of 8 times, the m-main guy and the main w-woman will get together, no matter what." He explains. Even with his math-defying estimate, he felt like he was underselling how common it was.
"Hm. Well that must make other movies of the genre rather predictable, wouldn't it?"
"Absolutely. Movies like th-this are like junk food. You know w-what you're getting, it isn't g-great, but it's comfortable."
"Please, don't ruin this for me by comparing the whole genre to something as common as that."
He chuckles. The conversation hits an awkward pause, as Irvin loses himself in thought. Sensing his contemplation, Princess doesn't interrupt. She watches with rapt interest as Irvin's eyes shift around, an inner struggle taking place. He slaps his hands over his cheeks, reaching a conclusion.
"Hey, P-Princess?" He pulls her out of his pocket and holds his hand out, positioning her so that they could see one another clearly.
"What is on your mind, Irvin dear?"
"...Do you like this car?" It was a simple question, but there was a hidden weight to it. Princess takes a moment to think before answering.
"Honestly? I think you were right earlier when you said it was the best we'd come through. Good food, lovely atmosphere, plentiful entertainment options, and a tireless staff all for free? It's almost too good to be true. To be honest, I almost expected us to find some rather troubling skeletons in our room's closet to balance out all the wonderful things we've seen."
"So, y-you like it?" He asks again, clarifying.
"Well, if I was going to ditch you anywhere…" She jokes. Irvin doesn't laugh.
"Wasn't that the plan?" His voice isn't angry or upset. It's perfectly neutral. It's less a question than him restating a fact. "You came with me t-to find your perfect car."
Princess' eyes widen, as she finally realizes what Irvin was telling her. "...I can't h-help but think that this is what y-you were looking for."
"...Princess, d-do you want to stay here?"
The question hangs in the air between them. Irvin had shut his eyes, unsure of what she would think. Slowly, he opens them…
Her expression was stone cold. A perfect poker face.
She chuckles. It's forced.
"If you wanted to be rid of me that badly, you should have just said so." She replies, climbing down to the ground.
"I d-don't! I just..."
She was walking away from him as she continued. "It's fine." As she speaks, she doesn't even turn back to look at him. "You don't have to explain it, I understand. You promised Rico that you would see him again, didn't you? That you would get off the train, and meet up with him on Earth, and I would always stay here. Like you said, that was always the plan. It's not like I'm surprised."
"D-Do you not… I don't w-want to abandon y-you, it's j-j-just-"
"It's fine." No it wasn't.
"You can leave. Everyone does sooner or later."
As she rounds the corner, she bolts away towards a closing elevator, jumping in at the last second. Irvin tries to catch up, but slams into the closed doors.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. There was no way he could leave it like this!
Watching the number above the elevator go up, Irvin runs up the stairwell to try and catch up with it. This car was massive, so if Princess really wanted to get away from him, she could. But somehow, he knew exactly where she was going already.
…
"It'll be a 12 hour drive, not counting lunch breaks. I'll call you when I get there mom." Leon says, closing the trunk of his car. He doesn't even make it back to the doorway before Clio has her arms around him. She doesn't say anything, but he understands what she wants to hear.
He crouches down and reciprocates. "Hey, don't worry sis. Swear on my life, I'll call you twice a week bare minimum. You'll barely notice I'm gone with how much I'll be gabbing in your ears. Heck, you'll probably get sick of me before you miss me."
She laughs, and wipes her eyes before breaking the hug. Their mom goes in for the hug and cheek kiss, and then… he gets in the car and leaves.
He waves to them as far as they can see, but once he rounds the corner, it finally hits her that her older brother isn't there anymore. And even though her mom was right next to her… she felt like she was alone.
The world turns to static, as the tape skips ahead.
"What…?" The girl asks. She knew what her mother had said, but her mind rejected the words.
"You're going to have a new baby brother soon." She says once more, tenderly rubbing her stomach. "Your father and I were just-"
"Princess?"
The mouse whips her head around to see Irvin. The male was stealing glances all around him, confusion written all over his face.
"What is… I w-was just in the hotel room looking for you, a-and you weren't talking, you were just staring at the screen. S-So I looked at it, and…"
He glances around, clearly not used to being here. With some hesitation, he walks forward and tries to touch the young girl as she gets into a spat with her mother. The tape hadn't paused for them, the scene playing out just as it had before. Irvin's hand goes straight through Clio's head, revealing static within. He recoils back, the hole he stuck his hand in filling up like a weird amorphous liquid.
"This is th-that tape…" He turns to Princess. "Clio Teresi?"
"She was my first." The mouse quietly replies, tucking her legs into herself. Fresh tear marks stained her face. Despite her standoffish body language, she looks at Irvin with pleading eyes.
Realization dawns on his face. "Your first… p-passenger?"
She nods. Irvin walks up to her side and sits down, the two of them watching events play out as they had one her first viewing. Clio runs off to her bedroom, the scene changing to there. As she cries, the train appears and whisks her away. And just like that.
It ends. They're both snapped back to reality, Princess sat on the bed and Irvin standing off to the side. He rubs his temples, feeling slightly nauseous and disoriented.
"I-I don't understand."
"It doesn't matter."
Swallowing up any lingering feelings of illness, he sits down next to her on the bed. "Yes it d-does. Because… it matters t-to you, and... you m-matter to me." She frowns, so Irvin adds, "I wasn't trying to get rid of you. I j-just want you to be happy."
A weary sigh escapes her. "I know. You mean well, it's just… I know this is how it works, but it never gets any easier. I always get invested, so it always hurts."
Irvin's face twists with guilt. "Princess…" He sighs, staring down at the ground. "Sorry. I know I s-should understand, but I d-don't. I'm too much of an o-oblivious idiot to put all the pieces together. I won't understand until you t-tell me."
Princess sighs, shaking her head. "You aren't a fool. It's my fault for never telling you..." She pauses, looking up at him. "Fine. Scooch back a bit."
As Irvin adjusts his position, Princess gets off to eject the tape. Dragging it over, she sets it in the middle of the bed between you. After a minute of thought, she begins to speak.
"Clio was the very first passenger I ever met." She smiles to herself, a warm nostalgic smile that told Irvin more about how she felt about the girl than her words could convey. "We met in The Garden Car. She had to give a name to every animal in there to unlock the door. Before her, I didn't even know there were passengers. I didn't even have my own name. I was just… The Mouse."
"So, she g-gave you the name Princess?" Irvin asks.
"And so much more… She showed me the world. She let me come with her, and let me experience so many things I had never even dreamed of. Things I couldn't comprehend. My world was expanded so much that the garden seemed so much smaller in comparison."
Irvin couldn't relate. He was so used to the world being so much bigger than he was, so much so that he couldn't even imagine thinking any one car he'd seen was all there was. It was a totally alien experience.
"That tape makes her look bad, but that was just a rough period for her. She was a wonderful child, you would have adored her. And she was only ten, so Rico could have gotten along with her perfectly well. Not that an age gap stopped the two of you from bonding." Her warm chuckle put a smile on his face. When her face fell, Irvin's did as well.
"We were going to leave together."
He grimaces, remembering Rico's departure on the bridge. He knew how this story ended.
"...We didn't know. She tried to carry me through, and I… was alone. In a car I couldn't leave by myself."
A low chuckle. "That's always how it ends. Every passenger I befriend, everyone I ever get close to… They always leave. And when they do, I'm as trapped as when I was still in that stupid garden. Except now I'm not blissfully ignorant."
She tries to give Irvin a pointed glare, but she can't muster the anger. "Do you still think that you're useless? Incapable? That you can't do anything? Do you have any idea what that really feels like? To know that no matter how much you try, you physically cannot change your circumstances." She holds out her hand, void of any number. "I will never get to leave this train, Irvin. And this train will never change to accommodate me. The train doesn't care about me, because I'm not a passenger. I'm just… a mouse that got too far from home."
Staring at the palm of her hand, she quietly tells him, "I would give anything for the life you would throw away in an instant."
Irvin lowers his head. The worst part was, he'd have given it to her if he could.
An overwhelming feeling of shame washes over him, as every careless comment he'd made appears in his mind. Like hundreds of wasps stinging at once, Irvin was suddenly painfully aware of just how often he surrendered before even trying.
"My current p-plan is just to lie down here forever until I die. You're k-kind of interrupting it."
"...So... I-I decided it wasn't worth going through it all again just to f-fail."
"B-But, I didn't want to come back. At least the other-"
"...a l-loser like me was always bound to end up here."
"I'm sorry that I'm still alive, when she isn't."
...Had he always been this pathetic? He knew he wasn't great at anything, but when did he give up on even trying?
"Princess… I d-don't know what to say." What could he? What would make her feel any better about the terrible hand this train dealt her?
"I'll stay here with you, so that you won't be alone." "We'll find a way for you to get off this train together." Many ideas swirl through Irvin's mind at once, each giving an easy answer. Honeyed words that soothe the wounds, and convince her that everything will be okay.
In the end though, the only thing that feels right is to tell the truth.
"I'm g-going to leave this train."
It was cruel, a twist of the knife. But he had to say it, not just for her but for him. He couldn't afford to compromise on this point. Not for a single moment. Even if it meant hurting someone he cared about, he needed to go home. He made a promise.
That didn't make it suck any less though. He clenches his fists, as he forces himself to keep going. "I'm sorry. I c-can't fix this. I don't want t-to leave you, but… I can't stay. I-I'm sorry."
With a resigned expression, Princess lets out a small sigh. For some reason, she almost seemed… relieved. "I know you will. I wouldn't want you to stay anyways, not if it meant breaking your promise to Rico."
He takes a minute to think before speaking again. "...I won't forget about you."
"Hm?" She raises an eyebrow, unsure of where he's going with it.
"You're g-going to feel terrible when I'm gone. I promise to feel awful t-too. I guarantee it. F-For the rest of my life, I'll carry a-around an ache in my heart that I can't b-be with you."
She shakes her head, weakly chuckling. "Irvin dear, please don't force yourself to suffer on my behalf."
"I'm not forcing a-anything. This is just how I feel." Irvin says. "I c-can't do anything about you being trapped here. The m-most I can do is let you choose w-where I'll leave you. If I can do more, I w-will, but…" He shakes his head. Focus on what you can do. "If nothing else, I p-promise not to take your companionship lightly. 'Til the d-day I die, I promise that I will miss you. No m-matter how much my life improves, and how happy I f-feel, I'll never let the pain of you not being with me leave. That's th-the price I'm willing to pay for your friendship."
"S-So… Even when I'm g-gone, we'll still... be friends…"
Irvin buries his face in his hands as his words catch up to him. It felt like he was saying something really cool at first, but now he realizes that what he just said was the lamest thing ever. Princess just poured her heart out to him, and he responded with this drivel. He wanted to curl up in a hole and die right there.
"...Sorry, th-that was terrible. P-Please pretend I d-didn't say-"
He pulls his hands away just enough to see the look on her face. Princess was sniffling, letting tears freely roll down the sides of her face.
"Irvin y-y-you… *sniff* you silly *sniff* bh- BAAAAAAH!" Now she was straight up ugly crying.
Shaken from his shame, Irvin scoops Princess into his hands and presses her into his chest. Whatever he was trying to say, it had gotten through to her. Seeing her like this… that got to him. Soon enough they were both in tears.
He couldn't save her from the train. But he could at least share the loneliness.
...
"I w-won't make you stay if you don't want t-to, but… Are you s-sure?"
"I am." She doesn't even hesitate. "This car is great, but I want to see your journey through."
He smiles, gently rubbing her head. "Well, I w-want you to be here with me, s-so I guess that works for both of us."
Alright, no more standing around, if they didn't leave now that buffet would tempt Irvin to stick around for at least another hour. He opens the exit, and they step out onto the bridge. The wasteland surrounds them as usual, taunting Irvin with the usual questions. Where is this, why is any of this here, all of that. They were definitely worth asking, but he'd gotten enough answers for one day.
"So, c-can I just ask," Irvin starts, "when you told me that you d-didn't know how these numbers worked, that was a l-lie, right? Why hide that?"
He holds up his hand to demonstrate, showing the digits which had changed after their talk.
299
"Oh, that…" Princess allows the barest trace of a nervous laugh to leave her, before quenching it. "It's Linus' fault."
"W-Who?"
"My last passenger." She blinks, realization appearing in her eyes. "Oh, he was the one that The Cat was talking about earlier, not Rico. The boy who went home."
Irvin had honestly forgotten about that until Princess brought it up, but it still felt good to get a clearer explanation.
"You would have loved him, he was a math savant. Excellent with numbers, but he had a lot of trouble understanding other people. Frankly, you would have appeared socially acceptable next to him."
That was a very chilling thought. He was getting goosebumps just imagining how badly someone else could act to make him look good.
"When I first met him, I told him exactly what the numbers were for. Because of that, I spent a full month with him calculating a logic chart for how the train raised and lowered numbers. He was basically trying to calculate morality itself."
"I mean… The t-train kind of has to do that, d-doesn't it?"
Princess shrugs. "Yes? I don't honestly know, but that month of watching him take data and write theoretical formulas was miserable. No offense, but if there was even a one percent chance you would have subjected me to that, it was too much of a risk. Never again..."
"I p-probably wasn't motivated enough at the s-start to dedicate a whole month to solving morality math." He mutters, pouting in mock indignation. A sly grin creeps its way onto his face. "Though n-now that I'm feeling a little better…"
"Don't you dare even joke. I will swan dive into the wheels if you even consider it."
They both laugh the idea off, agreeing never to venture down that path. When they reach the door, they ready themselves for anything. There was an infinite array of possibilities on what could be waiting, and they felt ready to face every possible outcome. After a shared look, Irvin pushes it open.
They would both agree that neither of them considered this.
"Our two latest competitors have arrived!" A familiar voice announces. Out of the shadows, The Cat steps out with a small mic taped to her jacket. Her ensemble now included a stunning top hat, with holes for her ears to poke out. "This lovely pair will be playing for fabulous prizes, right here on:"
The room lights up, revealing a large nautical themed game show set. Despite no audience being present, a pre-recorded voice shouts the show's title from the speakers.
"COMPANION SHIP!"
"...Huh?"