Infinity Train Book 2: Emma's Story

by OmegusXIII

When Emma Stephens was brought to the Infinity Train, she considered it more a curse than a blessing. And her bumping into a certain reflection that wanted nothing to do with her didn't help. But when danger strikes at them, they come to realize that the only way out is by working together to die trying.

6. The Toad Car

A/N: And I'm back with another chapter. Honestly, it was faster than I expected it to be. And you can expect things to be intense. But first, a little flashback. Hope you enjoy it. ;)

Chapter 5: The Toad Car

"We can't lose her, not again!"

"Well, it's obvious where they went, right?"

Jack had a feeling it might come to this. Sieve pointed to the door before Mace nodded to him with a grunt and they headed right for the door and exited the car altogether. With Reflection Enforcement out of his hair for now, Jack took the opportunity to get down from the building, jumping off of it to land on a staircase on the side of it. He traveled it down before he ended up back on ground level and looked back to the door. He can't help but worry about the two girls he stalled the Flecs for.

"Those kids better know what they're doing."

He could go back for them, whether it was to be sure they were safe or to confront Mace and find out how he knew him, but sanders were only ever one weapon they were capable of using. He knew that all too well from past experience. He needed to be ready. Jack turned his back from the door and headed to the marketplace.

Jack had gotten busy since then. He went to the snail who had a tape on hold for Emma and gave her the small orbs and player he'd previously been given. In exchange for that, he received the tape. The slug had told him he was lucky; if she had gotten a jar of Yukon's jam, he wouldn't have gotten it. Frankly, he wouldn't call it luck. In his experience, there was no such thing, especially not when it came to those same girls who went over to Yukon's hut. He was pondering it over as he looked at the tape that had an unknown last name on the label.

"What did they want with my tape, anyway?"

Jack didn't know the answer to that, let alone if it even was his own tape. But with his… checkered circumstances, he didn't think it smart to leave it for anyone to find. It was clearly safest with him. Jack took a look around for anything else to find that could help him if the Flecs were to show up again either a moment later or some other time. Then, he took notice of a grey liquid inside a jar as one of the merchants spoke out.

"Potent cure-alls for sale! Get 'em while they're cheap! Get your cure-alls here!"

Jack became interested right away. But he had to scope out the merchandise and be sure that the stuff was for real. He approached the slug's hut before getting his attention.

"Did you say cure-all?"

The slug became startled as he exclaimed a bit before catching his breath and seeing his customer.

"Oh, uh, yes. That's what I just said. Cure-alls straight from the Hospital Car. They can instantly rid you of any sickness, fevers, or disease"

Jack had reason to be skeptical as he analyzed the container.

"Hmm… And how are you so sure that the stuff works?"

"Oh, I tried it myself. I've got a lot of the supply on demand to prove it."

The slug proved it as he parted the curtain behind him to show a multitude of jars full of the stuff, puzzling Jack as he raised his eyebrows.

"Okay… but why do you need that many if it works?"

"I have my ways."

The slug gave Jack a wink before he took notice of it. He felt unsure of whether or not he was being truthful. To be certain, he needed to check with him and see if the price was right.

"Okay, how much is it?"

"It doesn't really cost that much, but what I want in trade is really elusive. All I want is something that'll help me get greasy enough to slide fast. I told this to a lot of people, but they all thought they meant actual grease! Crazy, right?"

Jack put his fingers on his chin. At this point, he's basically doing favors. Everyone always wanted something around here, after all. But that's something he's experienced at. He proved this as he got dug into his jacket's pocket and got out a bottle of blue gel with a logo of a man with a perfect hairstyle.

"Would this be what you're looking for?"

The slug raised his eyestalks in surprise as he gasped before examining the product. He popped open the lid before getting a smidge of it on his finger and wiping it on his undercarriage, having lifted it up to apply it properly. When the slug set his undercarriage down, he turned to his right and did a quick slide at the same speed a normal passenger would. This pleased the slug as he had a jovial look on his face.

"Ooh! I like this! Here you go, buddy!"

The slug then handed Jack the jar of silver liquid without hesitation. He took a closer look inside and saw through it. He could barely see the slug himself through it. It was like silver water. While Jack assessed the contents, the slug spoke up again.

"Oh, and as a complimentary addition, here's the syringe, in case you prefer the injection."

Jack noticed the syringe in his slimy hand before he took it handle first, and then wiping the gunk off with his jacket afterwards.

"Ugh… thanks."

The slug then began to ponder what his use for it could be as he piped up.

"Oh, that reminds me. What did you need it for? Is it for your family?"

Jack's face softened in sadness for that moment before he replied softly.

"I wish I could say 'yes', but… I'm just looking out for number one."

---

That was then, and this is now. He's not just looking out for number one here. Mace and Sieve had just popped up from the ocean's reflection with most of the group in shock. Even worse, they didn't come alone. They also brought the Mirror World's most vicious Hunter with them. It's situations like this that made him doubt luck ever existed as Mace shouted at them.

"Step away from those criminals!"

Jesse was confused. It was news to him that the Flecs were familiar with M.T. and Emma. And even worse was the fact they knew them as criminals.

"Criminals?"

Emma and M.T. looked at each other in worry. They didn't know how to explain this to Jesse, especially not like this. For now, escaping them is all they could think about.

"We got to leave!"

"I know. We have to get out of here!"

Jack, however, was not one to run away from a fight. Beside that, Jack hadn't forgotten who recognized him as the Flec in question put on his fedora.

"Not until I get some answers. First off, how the heck do you know me?"

Mace only chuckled darkly before he replied.

"Even if I told you, Jackie-boy, it wouldn't matter anyway."

M.T. couldn't care less about their history. She immediately went on top of Alan Dracula and pushed his rapidly spinning head into the ocean, blowing them away from the Flecs as they sped up towards land. When they got to the shore, they fell off of their boat. But that didn't mean they were safe. Emma looked at the ocean to see Mace and Sieve hopping aboard the ocean in and out like dolphins as she got out her hunting knife. But Emma kept count from when they appeared and noticed one of them was missing.

"Wait a minute. Where's the other one?"

As if to answer, a metal claw suddenly burst out from her knife, scratching her on the cheek as she exclaimed, dropped her knife, and fell to the sandy floor with the Hunter popping out of it and pinning her arms down and giving a low snarl to her face. M.T. saw this and became afraid for what could happen to her as she gasped before the Hunter spoke to the struggling girl.

"Pathetic. You're not even worth the hunt."

"Let her go!"

Backscatter turned around to see M.T. glaring at him before he gave her a devilish smirk.

"But you… you will make a fine trophy."

Visco, however, was a different story. Suddenly, he went onto the Hunter's face and smacked it while growing his head, knocking him off of her before shrinking back to normal with Emma rubbing Visco's head.

"Thanks, Visco."

Visco squeaked in reply before M.T. opened the door and wasted no time shoving Jesse out the door with Emma's following him afterwards. As for Jack, he was holding out his switchblade, getting ready to fight as Backscatter stood back up.

"Hey, Skullface!"

Backscatter turned around to see Jack with a livid expression on his face before calling him out again.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!"

Backscatter only snickered before he grabbed a khopesh, a curved sword, up at Jack before he spoke.

"You have heart. I'll take that, too."

Backscatter lunged at Jack before he dodged the blade. He made another swing, but that freed Jack up to do a counter strike, slicing him on the arm, making him groan as it seemed to cut the whole arm off as Jack backed away in surprise before he looked baffled, seeing the arm floating by itself with Backscatter looking amused.

"Hold on. My knife's not that sharp."

"Too bad for you."

Suddenly, the arm holding the khopesh flew right at Jack, forcing him on the defensive just as Alan Dracula came along nearby. Jack knew what the deer was capable of, so he tried to get its attention as he spoke to it.

"Hey! Any chance you can give me a hand?! And not literally?!"

Jack couldn't get the answer in time. The arm forced him away from the deer while M.T. took notice of him. She would try to help Jack with Backscatter. She had the metal skin to prove it. But then there were the Flecs. If she stayed any longer, she'd be captured, or worse. She had to get the deer away and follow her somehow. M.T. dug into her pocket and got out a giant leaf from the Family Tree Car. But in doing so, a crumpled up piece of paper fell to the floor before she waved it at Alan Dracula.

"Ugh. Come on!"

Alan Dracula took notice of the leaf and began to turn into a balloon before his body split into four of them and went after the leaf. By that point, the Flecs were just catching up to the shoreline. Unfortunately, things became complicated from there as Jesse noticed the paper beside M.T.'s feet. He didn't want things to be worse than they already are, what with them being criminals.

"Don't litter, M.T.! We're already criminals!"

Jesse picked up the paper by her feet. But the complications didn't end there. Emma realized that her knife was left out on the beach since she was attacked. She almost wanted to leave it behind when she saw the Flecs coming near it. But then, she remembered what Sieve said before the last time they were chased.

"This tear gets too big, I'm a goner."

They had to go back to the station, wherever that was, to recover since then. If Emma could make a clean cut on the skin again, they'd have to go back, and they could have some breathing room. Emma had to take this chance.

"I know what to do!"

Emma ran past Jesse and M.T., much to the latter's horror.

"Emma, no! Get back!"

Emma ran as fast as she could to get to her knife. But by the time she got to it, the Flecs had arrived at the shoreline before Mace gripped her by her shirt and twisted it so forcefully, she dropped her knife. Emma had a look of worry for a moment as she was held in front of him.

"You made a grave mistake siding with that sliver, girl."

Emma glared at Mace with vicious contempt. How could he just decide that her life wasn't worth it? According to M.T., slivers aren't meant to have their own lives. By that logic, the Flecs themselves might just as well be slivers, too! They had no right to judge her as something that doesn't deserve to live.

"She's not a sliver! She is my friend!"

Mace maintained his scowl as he replied back to her.

"Well, either way, you've made the worst mistake you could possibly make. Ordinarily, I'd take you out for cooperating with a criminal. But I can tell you have better things to do than to go through that."

While Mace made his offer, Visco, who was wrapped around Emma's neck, stretched his upper half into the jacket and traveled alongside it. A short moment after, Visco popped out of her left leg before picking up the knife Emma dropped and dragging it with him, much to Emma's surprise. How did the little gerbil know what she was thinking? Or did it just assume that she needed help? Either way, he was definitely being very helpful.

"So, we can do this one of two ways. Either you turn that sliver in and you get to walk away like it never happened, or you side with her, and we'll take the both of you out. Surely, you know which one is better for you."

Emma looked behind her to see M.T.'s worried face. She was paralyzed with fear all over again. She could only assume how many times she's had to avoid them during those two months. Nothing else could possibly have scared her this bad.

"It's like Mace said: I'm never safe."

Seeing the look on her face was all she needed to see. It was just like the look her mother had when she was taken. She already had a loved one taken away from her… and Emma couldn't let them take another from her. She looked back at Mace with a glare just as he pressured her again. All the while, Sieve was puzzled by a small bump traveling up on her leg.

"Huh?"

"Well? What's it going to be?"

In that moment, Emma felt the handle of her knife on her hand. Visco had taken the knife and placed it in her hand. This gave Emma the opportunity to take him by surprise as she clenched her hand on the knife before she shouted.

"Screw you!"

Emma made no hesitation to swing her knife right at Mace's "eyes", cutting across his latex face mask and slashing silver liquid onto the shore. The Mirror Cop was forced to let Emma go as he screamed in agony, much to Sieve's horror.

"Mace!"

While Emma looked at her hunting knife, she saw the same liquid that came from when she cut Sieve at the Black Market Car. Were those cops made of the same thing? If they were, that must've been why they needed those suits. At the same time, M.T., Jesse, Alan Dracula, Jack, and Backscatter took notice of the attack as well. The Chrome Girl, Jack, and even Backscatter were impressed with her resolve, but Jesse only became more and more worried.

"Emma! Why'd you have to do that?!"

Emma only ran from the Flecs as she shouted to Jesse.

"There's no time! We have to run!"

Jack couldn't agree more. But he can't exactly leave without the arm attacking him at the moment. So, he did the next best thing. Jack disarmed Backscatter's floating arm of his khopesh, knocking it to the shore before he took off to catch up with the others just before the door closed. But although it was disarmed, the arm retreated back into Backscatter, reattaching itself to him. Meanwhile, Sieve was tending to Mace, who was holding his hands over his mask.

"Mace, are you okay?"

Mace only growled as he pushed Sieve aside, revealing his "bleeding" liquid silver eyes over his sliced mask. It was torn where his eyes were cut, especially in the middle. Mace only used his "blood" to force his mask to stick on his face, pressing it against the surface until it was stuck tight enough not to fall off before he angrily replied.

"Don't worry about me, you idiot! GET THAT DAMN SLIVER!"

---

Outside the train, the group was putting the pedal to the metal. M.T., Jesse, and Alan Dracula got to the next car first before Emma and Jack caught up. While they caught their breath, Emma looked at the scratch Backscatter gave her. While she herself was bleeding, she also found something odd in the blood she wiped off her fingers. She found a grey speck of liquid, similar to the "blood" that Mace had. All the while, Jack was doing a headcount.

"Okay, is everyone present and accounted for?"

M.T. and Jesse replied quickly with Alan Dracula giving a huff from his nose, having claimed his leaf.

"Here!"

"Here!"

Jack looked behind him to check if Emma had followed them. Sure enough, she had. Though, Jack could see her mind was elsewhere.

"Emma, you okay?"

Emma's train of thought was shaken off by Jack's voice, her head turning to him.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah. I think so…"

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be for long. Sieve, Mace, and Backscatter had opened the door behind them, too. Sieve shouted out to them before the Hunter.

"There's no escape, sliver!"

"I will have my trophy!"

Jesse, being out of the loop about the situation, turned to Emma and M.T. Just like the former, he wanted to know how they knew them.

"What? M.T., what is going on?"

Like before, M.T. didn't have the time to answer questions immediately. Avoiding the Flecs took priority above all else as she opened the door with haste.

"Later!"

Jesse looked to Emma, hoping she could be able to tell him.

"Emma, do you know what's going on?"

"Yes, I do. And I promise I'll tell you when I can, but we have to go!"

Emma pushed Jesse through the door and turned back to see Mace and Sieve rushing at her. Emma stood in surprise before Jack grabbed her and pulled her away, making her exclaim just before the door closed on the Flecs, who then tried to force the door open, but with no success. Backscatter, on the other hand, was walking casually on the bridge, though he was agitated with Mace's shouting as he grumbled.

"Open the door! Open the door!"

Inside the car, which was a plain white cube, Emma went along with M.T., who then tried to open the door, but with no success on her end, either.

"Ugh, come on."

In that moment, Emma felt as though something heavy was pressing against her chest. She instinctively clutched her hand over her chest with a groan before she laid her back on the wall and sat down. M.T. took notice of it in her worry.

"Emma…?"

Jack saw this as well. He immediately ran over to the girl from seeing her condition. When he got up close to her, he saw her holding onto her chest.

"Emma, are you sure you're okay?"

Emma only looked up to him and replied to him assuredly.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

However, her cough proved otherwise, making M.T. gasp in worry while outside, Sieve was shouting to Jesse from his end of the door.

"You're making a big mistake, son! You and your friends are harboring a criminal reflection!"

This puzzled the young man as he looked back to M.T. and Emma.

"Wait. Are you the criminal?"

M.T. tried all she could to open the door while she answered Jesse's question.

"No! I-I mean… it's complicated!"

However, Jesse looked at the crumpled up picture he picked up. It was a wanted poster for M.T., back when she hadn't changed her style. Upon seeing the resemblance, Jesse gasped before Mace shouted from outside.

"I know you can hear me in there, sliver!"

He then tried to sand the door apart, but with no success, thus angering him as he yelled in fury before Backscatter spoke up from behind.

"Lay your sander down, Mace. It's only a matter of time before they get out, anyway."

Mace turned to him with a snarl before he voiced his doubts.

"And how do you know that?"

Backscatter only gave a dark grin as he held out his right claw with a silver liquid on his nails.

"Let's just say I've got a special surprise waiting for them. But for now, you will have to tear them apart from the inside."

Sieve saw where this was going when Backscatter pointed to him. He was more a being of diplomacy than Mace. But given his title of Hunter, he had to wonder why he wouldn't just infiltrate the car somehow. That seemed especially suspicious to him. Ordinarily, he'd do this sort of thing, anyway. But Backscatter's plan was in the dark for him, and he needed to be on the up-and-up to be certain.

"Wait. Aren't you always going on about the thrill of the hunt?"

"I prefer it, yes. But the prey is cornered. And a cornered animal is the most dangerous one, especially a pack of them. As we've seen with your friend."

Sieve pointed to Mace, who glared at him for using him as a subject of Emma's attack before he continued.

"Besides, as much as I'd like the challenge, it's only ever been rivaled by toying with my prey. You're just one of many means to achieve that. Now, do your job."

Sieve only glared at Backscatter and then turned his attention to the door before muttering to himself.

"Like I need you to tell me that…"

Sieve began to speak through the door, engaging in diplomacy.

"Hey. You okay in there, son? What's your name?"

Inside the car, Jesse looked back to M.T., Emma, and Jack. M.T. and Jack both shook their heads. But Jesse didn't listen to them and he answered anyway.

"Jesse."

M.T. grumbled before Sieve initiated the dialogue with Jesse.

"Nice to meet you, Jesse. I'm Sieve. I'm a Mirror Officer of the Peace. Jesse, do you know who she is?"

Jesse looked back to M.T., seeing her groan in frustration before she hit her fist on the door. After which, she looked back at Emma with a look of concern etched over her face before Sieve spoke on.

"She's a dangerous extremist from our Mirror World. She'll say anything to get what she wants. She did it to her Prime, and she'll do it to you, too."

And the news kept on coming. This was the first time Jesse heard of her prime, let alone the word in general used in this specific instance.

"Her Prime?"

Sieve knew he got Jesse hook, line, and sinker as he smiled.

"Aw, boy. She hasn't told you anything, has she?"

Mace held his head down while Backscatter snarled with a smile. Inside the car, M.T. tried to get Jesse away from the Flecs and Hunter.

"Ignore them."

"Why? They've told me more about you than you have!"

"I don't owe you an explanation."

"Oh, really?"

In his anger, Jesse held up the wanted poster for M.T. She widened her eyes in surprise before she immediately questioned him, only for Jesse to rebuff it.

"Where did you get that?"

"Does it matter? It's you. You're a criminal!"

While they argued, Emma looked at the two of them with a sad look on her face before Jack noticed it.

"Well, you're an idiot!"

"Yeah, I am, for trusting you!"

Outside the car, Mace sighed as he scratched his head. Something told him it'd be a while before M.T. either turns herself in or someone else does. Mace began to walk away as he spoke.

"I'm going back to the station for a change of my suit… and The Lawbreaker."

Sieve nodded to him, eagerly listening to the ongoing feud between M.T. and Jesse, the argument of which Emma couldn't stand anymore.

"Mm-hmm."

"You're lucky you ran into me!"

"Yeah, bad lucky!"

Emma had enough of their fighting, especially when it wasn't getting anyone anywhere. She tried to get up, but somehow it hurt her to try as she groaned. Almost immediately, she went back down on the ground, getting Jesse and M.T.'s attention as she tried to explain to Jesse the truth.

"Jesse, calm down. It's not her fault. Those Flecs are just hunting her down because they don't want her to live her own life."

However, her words didn't carry the effect Emma hoped. Jesse's face began to furrow in disbelief.

"Wait. You knew about this?"

Emma made a soft gasp, having realized her blunder. In trying to stand up for M.T., she ended up revealing her secret. And Jesse didn't like it one bit.

"You knew! Ugh! This is… Ugh! I can't believe this! I thought of all people here, you would be the one to be the most honest with me! But no! You keep this from me, too?!"

"Jesse, I can explain—"

Jesse wouldn't let her. He was too angry about the fact that M.T. was a criminal, and even more so with how Emma was aiding and abetting her.

"What, are you her criminal partner or something?! Did you both rob this train!?"

Before Jesse could interrogate her any further, Jack, who was getting angry from Jesse's accusation, intercepted him from getting too close to Emma and cut him off.

"Hey, knock it off, kid! Emma's not the enemy here, and neither is M.T.!"

That only angered Jesse even further. Yet another person who knew M.T.'s true identity.

"Oh, and of course, you'd know, too! Ahh! I can't believe you! It's like I can't trust anyone anymore!"

Just then, a deep-sounding voice spoke up from below.

"Please don't kick me."

Jesse, M.T., and Jack looked below them, with Emma looking ahead from her position, to see a toad next to a sign that said, "Kick the Toad" with an arrow pointing to him. M.T. became confused at the toad's request.

"Why would we kick you?"

"Well, ma'am, the only way to open the doors and get out of this here car is if'n you kick me. But please don't kick me."

The group looked to each other in puzzlement. Jesse gave a shrug to them while Jack voiced his inquiry.

"Well, what do you think?"

M.T. looked back down to the toad and spoke to him with slight hesitation in her voice.

"Sorry, but if it's the only way…"

She raised her leg, ready to kick the toad, who instinctively held his hands up to his face. But after what he heard about M.T., Jesse came to expect it from her as he scoffed, peeving her.

"Pfft. You would."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Kicking a defenseless frog?"

The toad piped up then to point out the common mistake to Jesse.

"Uh, toad."

"Sorry. Kicking a defenseless toad?"

"A-thank you very much."

"That proves you're a criminal."

M.T. was quick to counter before Jack tried to settle it with diplomacy.

"I am not a criminal."

"Look, Jesse, we've already established that she's not the enemy."

Jesse didn't look half-convinced by Jack's words. If anything, it stifled him even more.

"And what about you?! How do I know you're not a criminal?!"

Seeing things escalate for the worse, Emma became worried about how it would end as she frowned. And she wasn't the only one worried. The toad was getting just as scared of the outcome.

"Oh me, oh my! All this anger and arguin'. I know where this leads... To kickin' poor ol' chub-a-lubby me!"

Out of frustration, M.T. grunted before setting her leg down and walking away towards Emma, leaving the toad feeling relieved.

"Fine! You don't want me to kick him? Then I won't."

"Oh, thank my lucky warts."

But when she got back to Emma, M.T. turned back to Jesse with a glare as she spoke again.

"You can do it, because all you've done is hold us back."

Emma looked back up to M.T., feeling that her words were uncalled for with what Jesse went through.

"Hey, come on, M.T."

"Well, I'm sorry that it's the truth."

Jesse immediately took offense to that as he retorted.

"Except it isn't! I got us out of that Map Car!"

"Yeah, and how long did that take? Do you even want to get off this train?"

"Yes, of course, I do!"

"Then kick the toad!"

M.T. didn't realize that with her shouting, Emma was getting a headache as she groaned loudly before she piped up.

"M.T.! Can you stop it with your yelling? It's hurting my head…!"

M.T.'s face began to soften from seeing Emma like this. She didn't know if it had anything to do with her past, or if she was coming down with something. But either way, she didn't want to hurt Emma, let alone for her to be hurt. She knelt down by her side to check on her.

"Emma, are you okay?"

Emma only turned her head away as she answered.

"I'm fine, M.T. I just don't want you guys fighting…"

M.T.'s expression worsened before Jack took notice of Emma's sad look, too. It didn't fall upon a heart of stone, but even he knew what had to be done.

"Look, whether we're fighting or not, there's still only one way to get out of this car. And Jesse, I think we all know what that means."

Jesse looked back down to the toad, who was getting very scared of what was to come.

"Oh, no, back to this again. Oh, oh, please don't kick me!"

Frankly, Jesse didn't want to do it, either. But it's either that or be stuck in the car. All the same, he raised his leg with hesitation on his face.

"Uh, I'm sorry."

But as the toad cowered in fear, Jesse began to notice his number was changing. But instead of going down, it was going up to a "34". Jesse became worried about what it meant. The higher it went, the less likely, he'll be able to go back home. He set his leg back down on the ground, and in almost an instant, it changed back to "29". Jesse began to see the pattern and tried to confirm it as he raised his leg again, only for it to change to a "34" again. Seeing this, Jesse began to realize what was going on.

"Wait a minute."

In that moment, the toad piped up, nearly startling Jesse.

"Just do it already! Get it over with! Waiting's the hardest part."

Except he can't. If he were to even raise his foot to strike the toad, Jesse's number would go up. And he clearly can't take that chance. But maybe someone else could… The first person he thought of that could do it was M.T.

"I... think you have to do it."

At the moment, M.T. was staying close to Emma while Jack was using Alan Dracula as a paddle ball to pass the time with the ball being his nose and mouth. Of course, she immediately answered no to him.

"Mnh-mnh. Your number was changing. Clearly, it's a passenger thing."

This gave Jesse another idea. If he could get someone else to do it, maybe he wouldn't have to worry about his number going up.

"A passenger… Hang on. Emma, do you think you could do it?"

Emma gave it some thought. She was convinced that she found a window when it came to kicking the toad.

"I think so. I mean, it didn't say how hard I have to kick him. It could just be like a gentle kiss."

Emma didn't realize that in saying that, she ended up making M.T. blush a storm on her cheeks. And it didn't take long for her to get the picture not long after as she began to blush before correcting herself.

"Or-or something similar to that. But you know what I mean."

Emma tried to stand up, but her foot slipped on the ground, causing her to fall face first onto it, much to her irritation.

"Ugh! Why is my body against me today?!"

With Emma out of it, Jesse looked back to Jack, hoping he could take over.

"What about you, Jack?"

Unfortunately, Jack's answer was the same.

"I'll have to ix-nay on the oad-tay. I mean, obviously, I could do it, but it wouldn't be giving the poor guy a fair chance if he can't kick back."

Jesse gave a sigh of defeat as he laid his back on the ground. After a moment, the toad spoke up to Jesse, offering his service to him.

"Y'all need anything? Maybe some cookies and warm pond water?"

"Uh, no thanks."

"Okay, good. I-I ran out years ago. Makes hosting folks quite difficult."

The toad closed his eyes before Jesse looked up at the ceiling, not sure what to do to leave the car without risking his number. Jack could tell it must be hard for the boy before he looked back to M.T., who was checking with Emma again as she helped her back to the wall by the door.

"Emma, are you sure you're fine?"

Emma only turned her head away as she answered.

"I'd rather not discuss it."

"But Emma, you tripped on the ground. And you got a headache."

"I said no discussion. I just… I just need to rest, okay?"

M.T. began to feel even worse for Emma as she laid her back on the wall next to her.

"Okay. But, you know, I'll be here if you need anything."

Emma nodded to her with a disconsolate look. She knew she'd heard those words before, especially the ones that came out of her mouth. They were exactly what her mother said before to her.

"I'd rather not discuss it. No discussion."

Emma curled herself up into a ball as she gave a heavy sigh. As if the Flecs and that Hunter weren't enough, her body just flat-out turned against her at the worst possible time. She had to wonder. Was she really okay…?

---

Later, outside the train, Sieve was trying out a new look with a rolled up pant sleeve. He compared it with his other pant leg before realizing it was unnecessary.

"Hmm. No, that looks stupid."

Sieve unrolled his pant sleeve as Backscatter was sharpening his khopesh on the rail of the train consistently, sending sparks flying off the bridge. Sieve gave him a small glare before he tried to find out what he was waiting for. After all, he did see his arm float by itself. Surely, he wouldn't just be waiting around.

"So, uh… why are you just waiting out here?"

Backscatter turned back to Sieve with a glare of his own before he answered.

"I already told you. I've got a special surprise in store if they should refuse to come out."

"And if they don't?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, now would it?"

Backscatter went back to sharpening his khopesh as Sieve grumbled to himself.

---

Inside the car, it was nighttime, with the cube being dark blue. Before, the cube itself was sunset red to show the time of day. Emma was getting worse. She had bags under her eyes, her skin began to sweat heavily, and she couldn't have felt any more weaker. It wasn't lost on anyone in the room. Even the toad, who was constantly worried about being kicked, could tell she didn't look right. Jack looked into his pocket and saw the syringe full of the cure-all he'd bought before. He wanted to use it on her, but he hesitated. And for two reasons.

One could be that this cure-all might not work, and it'll end up being for nothing. Another reason was that hopefully it could go away and Emma would be all better. At least, it was his hope, but it was waning with every passing hour. As for M.T., she wanted to know how she was doing. She scooched herself closer to Emma before speaking softly.

"Emma, what's really going on with you?"

Emma only buried her head in her knees as she replied.

"I'm not really in the mood to talk right now, M.T."

M.T. wanted to get to the bottom of it, but as she looked at her, M.T. began to think that she was aware that she wasn't alright. She didn't want to bug her too much about it, but she needed her to share her feelings somehow… even if it meant sharing her own. M.T.'s face began to blush at the thought of it as she spoke.

"Well… I want to talk to you. With what's going on, you're… you're probably the only person who'd ever want to listen to me."

Emma looked back to M.T. with a puzzled expression. What could she possibly say to her if it's not about her health?

"Well, what did you want to talk about?"

M.T.'s blush got worse before she finally admitted it.

"I, uh… I heard everything you were saying to Jack in the last car."

Emma's face blushed madly as she jumped up in surprise.

"What?! Uh, i-it wasn't me! It was probably some kinda trick on you!"

M.T. began to laugh a bit from her reaction before she reassured her.

"It's fine, Emma. To be honest, I know what you're going through."

Emma and M.T. both began to blush together with smiles on their faces as the former spoke up.

"You… you do?"

"Of course. We're both going the same way. At this point, it wouldn't be a surprise."

"I don't know. That was news to me."

Emma and M.T. began to laugh together before the Chrome girl began to sadden, prior to her speaking again.

"Well, either way, as much as I care about you, I don't want to hold you back from your real world, not like Marcel. I understand you want to get your mom back, and I won't get in the way of that. This was all my fault, anyway."

Emma began to feel bad for M.T. She couldn't help it if the Flecs wanted her dead. Emma tried to comfort her as she spoke softly.

"M.T., it's not your fault."

"Really, Emma? Look where we are. We're stuck in this car with no way out, except to kick a toad, which nobody wants to do. And even if we get out, you're still feeling sick. And I… I don't know what to do to help you. I-It's like I'm always ruining other peoples' lives. Maybe they're right about me… Maybe I don't belong anywhere… I guess I'll just be alone."

Emma couldn't take it. She can't stand to see M.T. so upset anymore. Without thinking, she immediately gave her a hug as she spoke with a sad tone in her own voice.

"Never say that again, M.T. You're not a criminal. You don't ruin other peoples' lives. And you're not alone. Believe it or not… I know what you're going through, too. I'm always trying to take care of my mom, but I don't even know what to do to get her straight. And the fact I can't be with her to figure out how? It's suffocating me. But the worst thing is… maybe I'm just like her."

M.T.'s face softened from hearing this. As sad as it was to hear this from Emma, she knew her trap worked. She hugged Emma back to reassure her.

"Emma, you're not like that."

"But something's wrong with me, M.T. And I couldn't even let you help me."

"That's because you're trying to be strong for me. Your mom probably tried to do the same for you."

Emma began to show tears starting to form on her eyes as M.T. spoke further. Could that be her problem? Was she not letting anyone try to help her?

"I don't blame you for trying, but you don't have to be strong. I can help you if you need me."

Emma stopped hugging M.T. and moved herself back a bit to look at M.T.'s face, seeing a bit of her own reflection inside it as she wiped her tears away before replying with a smile.

"Thanks, M.T."

M.T. nodded back to her before realizing how short their time would be.

"I wouldn't thank me. You still have to get back to your mom. And when you do…"

Before M.T. could finish, Emma gently placed her hand on her face.

"Hey, we can cross that bridge when we come to it. Let's just rest for now, okay?"

M.T. paused for a moment as she saw her face. Although she was still sick, Emma was looking better than a few hours ago. She gave her a smile as she leaned against the wall alongside her.

"Okay."

With that, Emma and M.T. rested next to each other on the wall with Jack happy from seeing this. Then, he looked back to Jesse, and saw him looking ahead at M.T. and Emma with a somewhat stern yet tired look. Jack sighed at the sight of the boy before he walked over to him and sat down next to him before he spoke.

"You must've heard what they were saying."

Jesse sighed a bit as he spoke softly.

"I guess. But they're still criminals. They still did bad stuff. So, why do I feel so bad for them?"

Jack looked back to the two of them before he turned back to him.

"Do you honestly believe that?"

Jesse became puzzled once again, looking back to Jack.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you even know what they did wrong?"

Jesse wanted to answer, but found that he couldn't.

"No."

"Exactly. There's a lot more to people than what they tell you to see. One person would call someone else a criminal, but everyone else wouldn't know how or why. That's not being fair to them, or you. Besides, do these two honestly look like criminals?"

Jesse looked back at M.T. and Emma, seeing them holding each other's hand before giving his answer.

"Well, no. But still, you guys should've just told me."

Jack gave him a stern look as he replied back.

"Trust isn't an easy thing to earn, Jesse. Six cars with her isn't enough to earn a stranger's trust. But Emma? She's been with M.T. for about ten times that many, as I've been told. And they've been through more than you could ever imagine."

As Visco peeped out of Emma's jacket and went up to M.T.'s shoulder to sleep on (much to the Chrome girl's confusion), Jesse's face began to soften from seeing his point before he spoke again.

"Besides, nobody wants their dirty laundry out in the open for anyone else to see. Would you?"

Jack then stood up and went to the wall in-between him and Emma and M.T. with Alan Dracula in front of him. After that, there was a long silence between the group. During that silence, Jesse began to consider Jack's words. Maybe he wasn't being as fair with Emma and M.T. as he should've been. Emma was even going to explain herself, but he just yelled at her for it. He couldn't have done worse if he tried. He only answered Jack's question to himself in shame.

"No…"

After a while, Jesse began to yawn, followed by Jack, M.T., Emma, Visco, and even Alan Dracula before suddenly, the deer turned into a bunch of pillows, surprising the toad before laying down to take a nap. Jesse, Emma, and M.T. took notice of it and sat up almost right away with a gasp from each of them. Jesse and M.T. looked at each other in an awkward manner, having been at odds a few hours earlier. Jesse was the first to head to the deer before M.T. groaned. She looked back at Emma, seeing how sleepy she was before speaking to her.

"Eh, you look like you need it more than I do."

Emma had to agree as she made a light laugh while M.T. was picking her up bridal style while the toad hopped on top of Alan Dracula's head pillow.

"Yeah, I think that may be true."

It wasn't long before Jesse and M.T. laid on the deer's pillows, with the latter setting Emma down beside her. Emma eased herself into the pillows easily, but M.T. only sat up with her arms crossed. Emma saw her displeased look and became puzzled until she looked behind her. She saw that Jesse wasn't any happier. She could only assume M.T. wasn't happy about sharing the deer with Jesse.

"Are you still upset about Jesse?"

M.T. turned to Emma with a sad expression on her face. She was still in a sour mood for him accusing Emma of being a criminal like her.

"Yeah. After what the Flecs told him, I don't think he'll ever trust us again."

Emma could see plainly enough why that was the case. They never told Jesse about the Flecs, or who they really were. But if that were to change somehow… she'd have to tell him.

"Well, why don't you try telling him?"

M.T. only grumbled as she laid back on the pillows.

"What's the point? He won't even listen to me, anyway. I didn't exactly act like I'm innocent."

"Well, yeah, but you can try again. Things have calmed down a bit since then."

M.T. still had a look of uncertainty on her face, which Emma took notice of before she reassured her.

"M.T., I know the trust you want to have with him is gone. But it doesn't mean you can't make a new one. Don't you think it's better for him to see you as you are instead of how the Flecs tell him to see you?"

M.T.'s face softened once again. It wasn't entirely his fault that he started accusing her and Emma. And now that he knows, he can't find any reason to trust them. But, like Emma said, it didn't mean she can't make a new one. Hopefully, that trust would last longer. M.T. began to smile as she replied.

"Maybe…"

Emma looked up at the ceiling for a moment, trying to power on through the sweat that was coming down from her head. Unfortunately, M.T. noticed it and checked up on her.

"Uh, how are you feeling, Emma?"

"Honestly… I'm scared. And I feel so awful."

M.T. looked at the surroundings in the cube and came up with an unlikely theory.

"Is something in this car making you allergic?"

"I don't know. And no, it's not the toad."

The toad overheard Emma talking about him and became puzzled.

"Huh?"

"But whatever's going with me, I'll just try to tough it out and power through."

M.T. gave her a smile as she rebutted playfully.

"Oh, great. 'Cause you kinda have to to keep this motley crew of ours together."

Emma couldn't help but laugh at M.T.'s comment. But in a short while, she began to cough hard, forcing her to use her hand to catch the cough and making M.T. look at her in worry. Jack took notice of it as well before M.T. went closer to her.

"Emma, if you need any help with what's going on with you, we're here for you. Okay?"

Emma gently nodded to her before M.T. held her close. Jack looked back at his syringe again. Emma was only getting worse, and he wanted to help her, but he put his syringe away before speaking to himself.

"You better make it, Emma."

Meanwhile, Jesse was getting anxious as he pulled up his phone and started to look at the pictures he took in the previous cars. For instance, Jesse found one picture of himself hanging out in the Duck Car with one of them wearing glasses. Next, it showed him, Emma, Jack, M.T., Alan Dracula, and Mr. Green the Grape-man in the Green Car. He was standing next to Mr. Green while M.T. and Emma were looking at the camera in puzzlement with Jack beside Alan Dracula.

The next picture he looked at was the Beach Car. Jesse was taking a selfie with him behind one of the Randalls, making him appear blurry. Alan Dracula was mimicking the Randalls, taking on a water-like form of himself with Jack holding two fingers up from his hand with his arms crossed. Emma was holding Visco like a donut-holer of her own, with his open mouth being the hole while M.T. looked at a Randall holding a donut-holer in confusion. But the next thing Jesse went to was a video. And unlike the others, it took place at home. It had three boys standing in front of a steep hill, two of which were looking at him. Jesse immediately pressed to get a look at the video.

"Record it! Jesse, record it!"

"Man test! Man test! Man test! Man test! Man test! Man test! Man test!"

As the boys chanted, Jesse looked up and saw a young boy of Native American descent with dark hair and an olive complexion as well as a teenager with slicked-back dirty blonde hair and peach fuzz on his chin. He was wearing a light blue t-shirt with a pupfish, gray shorts, white socks, and white and red sneakers. And the teenager beside him was wearing a short-sleeved jacket with a white shirt inside it, as well as pants. But there was also someone else sitting on top of a drawer that would soon roll off the hill. It was a little girl with her chocolate brown hair tied up into a ponytail, a small, dark blue jacket, a pink shirt underneath it, and light pants. She was waving to the camera beside Nate, making Jesse smile before she turned to Nate and spoke to him excitedly.

"Are you ready to do this, Nate?"

"I-I don't know. If I do it, can I hang out with you?"

Upon hearing her voice, M.T. became puzzled as she turned her head to Jesse's side of Alan Dracula.

"Huh?"

Emma took notice of her curiosity and became curious herself.

"What is it?"

Emma turned her own head around to see Jesse's video, too, as his friends egged Nate on down below before the teenager getting ready to push spoke up to him.

"Hey, be a man."

"Yeah, come on."

"Make him do it, Jesse!"

Jesse spoke out to his brother in the video.

"Yeah, it's fine, just do it already, Nate! If you and Penny don't do it, you can't be a man!"

Watching this, Jesse began to feel a bit of shame coming down on him before Penny held onto his hand.

"Even if it doesn't work out, you can always hang out with me."

Nate began to blush small dark brown spots on his cheeks before he replied and inquired to the pusher behind him.

"O-Okay. Can we do it on the count of three? I just don't want to fall."

"Yeah. One…"

Suddenly, he pushed Nate and Penny down the hill.

"Two, three!"

Penny and Nate went down the hill at a very fast speed, zipping past Jesse and his friends. Nate was terrified while Penny was exhilarated before the drawer they rode on hit a speed bump. It instantly launched Penny and Nate off of it before the girl did a somersault on the ground and landed on her bottom before she giggled. Nate, however, wasn't so lucky. He crashed hard on the ground behind her, making Jesse's friends swarm over to him and make fun of him.

"Oh!"

"Epic fail!"

Penny, on the other hand, took notice of his blunder. She became concerned for Nate and went over to him to check up on him.

"Nate, are you okay?"

Nate barely stood up, holding onto his left arm. On top of that, he had scratches under his eyes and on his right elbow. And his pupfish shirt was torn at the left shoulder.

"It... It really hurts."

As Penny saw the tears in his eyes, she felt bad for him while the teenager who pushed the two children down the hill made fun of him.

"'It weally hurts.' Ha-ha-ha! You failed!"

The teenager pushed Nate to the ground before Penny instantly shot a death glare at him and piped up.

"Hey! Leave him alone, Troy!"

Troy only laughed at her before he spoke to her condescendingly.

"And what if I don't, huh? What are you gonna do about it?"

Penny only growled in anger before Troy turned to Jesse.

"Jesse, tell him he failed!"

In the video, Jesse was all too eager to do it.

"Nate, you failed the man test!"

However, upon watching it, Jesse began to feel worse and worse from even thinking that he'd hurt his little brother. What Nate did next made him feel even worse.

"Jesse…"

Nate took off crying with his hands on his face. Penny went after him while one of his friends made fun of him for it.

"Is he crying?"

"Nate, come back!"

In the video, Jesse only shouted back at Nate before Troy went over to him and flipped over it to show him and Jesse.

"You better not tell Mom!"

"Did you get all that? It was epic! Your brother beefed it."

However, Troy's laughter was immediately short-lived. Because almost a moment later, another voice shouted at them. And it was not happy one bit.

"YOU IDIOTS!"

Suddenly, his arm caught Troy in a choke-hold, surprising Jesse and terrifying his other friends.

"Hey!"

"What the heck, man!"

The source of the voice was wearing a black jacket with a grey shirt inside it, as well as light blue jeans. And he had dark brown hair in an undercut style with a small scar on his right cheek. He paid no attention to the others, not even to Jesse's words as he choked Troy to the point where his face turned red.

"Come on, Bryce! Let him go!"

"If you and your goons don't leave right now, I'll rip that pathetic excuse of a mustache off your face and make you eat it!"

Emma widened her eyes in surprise. Albeit with anger dominant this time, she knew that voice sounded familiar.

"Is that…?"

Bryce immediately chucked Troy to the ground before shouting at them.

"Get the lead out, now!"

As per his words, they left in no time at all before he turned to Jesse in the video and began to chew him out.

"And you! What is wrong with you?! What possessed you to allow your little brother and my little sister off a steep hill?!"

The terrified Jesse tried to explain himself, but it didn't come close to appeasing his wrath.

"I-I thought it would be funny—!"

"Funny?! He has a broken arm because of you and your goonie friends! What kind of brother are you to let this happen?!"

"Ah, please don't be mad!"

As Jesse held his arms to protect his face in the video, expecting it to be punched for what he put Nate through, Bryce took a brief moment to take a deep breath with a look that told Jesse he expected better of him.

"I'm not mad, Jesse. I'm just disappointed. I thought you'd be better than this. But I guess I was wrong."

At that point, the video stopped, leaving Jesse feeling guilty as he gave a heavy sigh before M.T. piped up behind him.

"What you watching?"

Jesse turned to M.T. and instantly showed agitation as he sat up and walked away from her.

"Nothing."

"Didn't sound like nothing."

Jesse didn't say another word as he sat down on his side of the cube again. After a moment of silence, Emma spoke up in a soft tone.

"I heard his voice before…"

M.T. looked over to her, surprised that his voice would be recognized by her.

"What's that now?"

"Just before I woke up in my first car, I heard his voice. He was telling me that… that he knew how I felt."

Surprised as M.T. became, she wondered if the two of them ever met.

"Did you… did you see him before?"

"Well, no. And before now, I thought he was some kind of angel visiting me from Heaven or something. But now, I know he's just another passenger. Like… like me."

M.T. laid back down on Alan Dracula. It is a surprise for her to recognize him despite having never met him. Still, she knew Emma was mostly right about her new assumption.

"Well, he was a passenger. He must've found his exit and got back home. If he could do that, I think you could, too."

Emma smiled again to M.T. before she expressed her gratitude.

"Thanks, M.T."

Meanwhile, Jesse was looking at another set of photos on his phone. One showed a picture of him, Nate, and Penny in a fort inside the house before another showed him and Nate both dressed up as Dracula. And finally, it showed him, Nate, his mother, and his father in front of a lake before he groaned. Bryce was right. What kind of brother was he to do that to him? Just then, he heard Sieve speaking up from behind him.

"Hey, Jesse, you there?"

Jesse turned back to the door behind him before he responded.

"Y-Yeah, I'm here."

"That's great. I'm so glad you're safe."

"You are?"

"We're not the bad guys, son. Look around. You're the hostage. We're trying to save you."

Jesse looked back at Emma and M.T. as Sieve said this. Emma began to cough again as Jack went up to her and checked on her. From the look of it, her health was getting from bad to worse. That's something that Jesse became worried for as he spoke to Sieve about it.

"And what about Emma?"

"Well, of course, we'd help her, too. After all, she's just an innocent accessory to M.T."

Jesse looked at the interaction between the two as M.T. tried to reassure her.

"It'll be okay, Emma. You'll be okay."

Jesse's face sunk even further before Sieve inquired to him again.

"Now, was that a phone I heard?"

"Y-Yeah."

""Hmm, why isn't it reflective?"

"It's really dark in here right now."

"Got you. Well, you can really help us out here, Jesse. All you have to do is leave that phone out till morning, so we can pop through the screen reflection and arrest… M.T. for her crimes. Now, I know it's hard, but she broke the law."

Jesse looked back again to the group, seeing Emma cough hard before M.T. held onto her right hand while Jack did a fever check, placing his hand on her forehead as she groaned and complained.

"Why didn't you check with this earlier…?"

"How was I supposed to know it'd be this bad? I'm not a doctor."

Jesse turned back to the door before he inquired again.

"Hmm. You won't hurt her, will you?"

"If she means that much to you, Jesse, I suppose we can make an exception."

Jesse turned back to see Emma, with M.T. getting anxious.

"I don't understand. How did you get so bad when we got here? You were fine before."

"I… wish I knew…"

Jesse turned back to the door, getting an unsettling feeling as he spoke to Sieve again.

"And you'll help Emma, too, right?"

"Of course. We'll help her get better."

This made Jesse suspicious. How did he know Emma was getting sick?

"Wait. You knew she was sick…"

Sieve heard the anger in his voice as he tried to calm him down.

"Now, Jesse. It's not what you think—"

Jesse was in no mood whatsoever to hear him out with what's going on.

"Isn't it?! Because I think you just poisoned Emma to get to M.T.!"

M.T., Emma, and Jack overheard Jesse's shout as they turned to him in shock. Emma was in disbelief over this information.

"Wait. I was what?"

Sieve was caught just as much unawares as the others were. But nonetheless, he persisted.

"Now, Jesse, I need you to listen to me."

"No! I'm done listening to you!"

Jesse turned away just in time to see M.T. with an angry look before she quickly took Jesse's phone and instantly smashed his phone in her palm before tossing it on the ground and spray-painting it, much to Sieve's worry as he spoke outside.

"Jesse? What's going on in there?"

"Nice try! The phone's gone, Flec! I'm not letting you use anyone else to get to me!"

With that, M.T. dragged Jesse away from the door with an angry look before Sieve grunted in frustration before he turned to Backscatter with a livid look on his face. The fact that Emma was poisoned was news to him as well.

"You poisoned her?!"

Backscatter, who was still sharpening his khopesh, only answered casually.

"Of course, I did. Was that really a surprise?"

Sieve grunted in anger and disgust before he retorted.

"You're right. I should've expected you to do something like that! Your methods are cruel and inhumane, compared to what Mace and I do! This is why you're a criminal!"

Backscatter finished sharpening his khopesh with a long scratch, sending sparks from it out of the bridge before he laughed.

"Oh, of course. Because you Flecs are the law keepers around here. As if you've never dirtied your hands to protect and enforce the barrier. Wake up and smell the hypocrisy of what you're spitting!"

Backscatter made no hesitation to throw his khopesh near Sieve and embedded it into the wall near the door before he leered at the Mirror Cop.

"You think my methods are more cruel than yours? Sanding down slivers into nothing? Making empty promises to passengers? Don't make me laugh. You and I are just as cruel and inhuman as they come. But at least I embraced and accepted it, which is more than even you can do. That's the difference between a Hunter like me, and a naïve cop like you. You'd be wise to remember that difference."

Sieve growled at Backscatter's comment, having gone under his skin before they heard Mace's voice behind them.

"Move."

When they turned around in response to his voice, they noticed a giant, silver, laser-like weapon connected by a power cord next to the back end of it before he spoke again.

"Now, we're gonna do it my way."

With that, Mace plugged the cord into the Lawbreaker, charging up the weapon to get their prey.

Back in the car, M.T. was angry over how Jesse found out.

"You knew Emma was poisoned?! Why didn't you say anything before now?!"

"Give me a break, M.T.! I just found that out! Besides, I wasn't gonna let them in!"

M.T. had a hard time believing that, given what she saw him do to Penny and Nate, though the little girl was more likely to bounce back from it.

"Why should I trust somebody who sells out his own brother?"

Jesse was caught red-handed when she said this. He tried to explain himself, but the more he tried, the more guilty he became.

"What? No, I-I didn't... It's more complicated than that. My friends, it w-was their idea. I just thought it would be funny, I... But... I didn't mean to hurt Nate. Or Penny."

M.T.'s face softened a bit, beginning to feel bad for Jesse. She saw the guilt on his face. After how Bryce told him off in the video, she'd believe it. That aside, she and Emma both knew this could be her chance to form a new trust with him.

"Yeah, well, you have. But… ugh, he's probably fine. Besides, Penny's been through a lot before then. That was like nothing to her."

"I wouldn't know. I didn't get to talk to them before... here."

"But, it's not completely your fault. Your friends are bad. You know that, right?"

Jesse's face had a sheepish look on him before he replied.

"Maybe."

Emma, despite her condition, spoke up to him.

"Then, why did you hang out with them anyway if they were no good?"

Jesse looked down to Emma before he answered, his face etched in shame.

"I don't know. I guess because they made me feel like one of their own, or something. That, like, they were my really close pals I could count on, and they made me feel great despite how... they act. I know they're not great. And plus, what they did to Nate was not nearly the half of stuff they did that I've seen. But they're nice guys deep down, and it's good to give them the benefit of a doubt. Right?"

However, Jack crossed his arms and looked sternly at Jesse as he gave him a heavy reality check.

"Wrong. Those guys aren't your friends, Jesse. They're just bullies who took you on as a sucker to amuse themselves, and you didn't have the spine to say no to them."

Jesse's head sunk down before Emma and M.T. looked at Jack with a glare, only for him to remind them of the reason he's on the train.

"Jack!"

"I'm sorry, but that's the truth. That's the whole reason he's on this train. If he'd picked his friends more carefully, he wouldn't be trapped in the first place."

M.T. snapped back at Jack, not happy with how he's treating Jesse.

"And what do you know?"

Jack maintained his stern look as he answered her.

"More than you think. That's all I have to say."

M.T. didn't like the answer. If anything, it sounded more like an excuse. As for Emma, she bore a soft look on her face when she remembered how Bryce told him off. He was angry at first before he calmed down and told him he was disappointed. If that didn't do it, what else could have?

"Well, at least you're trying to be a nice guy. And you always try to see the good in everyone and give them a chance, from what I've seen. So, I guess I can't blame you. But Troy and his friends were wrong to take advantage of you and your brother. People like them? They usually don't deserve to be given a chance."

That made Jesse feel even worse before Emma spoke up again.

"But that doesn't mean you're bad. I think you could've handled it differently, sure, but I don't blame you for letting them walk all over you. You're not like them. If anything… you're a bit like me. You just wanted a friend."

Jesse looked towards Emma with a puzzled look before she spoke onwards.

"I think you just basically need to be a bit more picky about who you're friends with. Besides, at least you got some real friends here. Like me, M.T., Alan Dracula, Visco, and even Jack."

Jack overheard this, raising his eyebrows before correcting her.

"Uh, it's more of an acquaintance, actually."

M.T. smiled at Emma's words. At least, they were certainly better friends than Troy. And in their own way, they actually did care about Jesse.

"Emma's right. I am your friend. That is… if you still want me to be your friend."

Jesse gave it some thought. He took into account what Jack told him before. Nobody wanted their dirty laundry out for anyone to see. He can't really blame M.T. for not telling him about her. And she did try to help him get his number down. Beside that, Emma stayed with M.T. despite her being a criminal, so the fact that she looked after the passenger said a lot about who she really was. Having come up with an answer, he gave her a soft smile as he nodded.

"Yeah."

M.T. initially smiled before her face softened, remembering how much she kept from him to begin with. Since he's still willing to be his friend, M.T. decided to form a new trust with him as Emma suggested, starting with explaining everything.

"I probably should've told you what was going on earlier. It's true, what those Flecs said. Technically, I am a 'criminal,' but I didn't do anything wrong."

"So you are a reflection? Who are you a reflection of?"

M.T. crossed her arms before her eyes darted left and right a bit, trying to figure out how best to put it to him, at least in a way where he won't ask too many questions all at once. When M.T. came up with it, the Chrome girl explained it while she sat down next to Emma.

"Remember that friend I told you about... Tulip? I used to reflect her, but I wanted to live my own life, make my own memories, but that's against Mirror Law, and those Flecs have been chasing me ever since."

Jesse sat down beside M.T. next, feeling bad for her. He couldn't imagine being on the run for as long as she has. He probably wouldn't last as long. Then, he thought about when she called herself M.T. With how she was her reflection once, Jesse began to piece it together.

"So your name, 'M.T.', does it stand for Mirror Tulip?"

"It's not my name. I'm just letting you call me that."

Jesse then turned to Emma, wondering how she came to meet her.

"And what about you? How long have you known her?"

Emma turned to Jesse before she answered. She may be sick, but she didn't see the harm in answering a few questions.

"Well, I've known her since my first car. It's where I met Visco, too."

Visco squeaked up from beside Emma's head on her shoulder as he popped up from behind. Emma scratched his head gently with a giggle before she continued.

"We didn't get along all that well at first. But when M.T. and I were being hunted… er, not by the Flecs, by the way. Anyway, we had each other's backs. We got used to each other since then. And then, the day before we met you, I found out she was a criminal, chased by the Flecs for wanting her own life. She… wondered if I was scared. I mean, of course, I was. Anyone would be scared of them popping up out of nowhere. But wouldn't you know it? They actually pop out through reflections. Crazy, right?"

Hearing this, Jesse made a sigh of relief before he confused about the subject, considering how M.T.'s body can reflect as well.

"But M.T.'s body is reflective. Can't they jump out of her?"

M.T. gave Jesse a flick on the head, making him give an "Ow!" in response before M.T. informed him.

"People can't jump out of people. Come on. That's stupid."

"Oh, yeah. That's stupid, But the rest of it is normal."

M.T., Jesse, and Emma began to laugh before the last of the three began to cough again, this time using her whole arm to cover her mouth until she was done. But when she finished, Emma took notice of something bizarre. Her hand had a large chrome-like spot on her hand.

"Huh? What the…?"

Emma rolled up her sleeve and found out that most of her arm was coated in chrome, making her eyes widen before she spoke up to the others, who took notice of such an alarming development, including Jack.

"Uh, speaking of normal, I don't think this counts!"

And it got even worse. Suddenly, a metal claw burst out from one of Emma's larger chrome spots before she exclaimed as the hand landed on the ground in front of Alan Dracula and reconstructed itself into his complete form as he laughed before he spoke out to M.T. with a glaring smile.

"I've come for my trophy! And I will not leave empty-handed!"

And as if that wasn't bad enough, the door that Emma, Jesse, and the others came into the car with was glowing red at the center. Outside it, Mace was using the lawbreaker to break in the car as Sieve spoke out to him from his side of it.

"Sorry, Jesse. Should've helped us when you had the chance!"

Inside, Jesse stood in front of M.T. and Emma to protect them from Backscatter as he drew closer with a laugh before the young man called him out.

"We're not letting you get to her!"

"Oh, really? You and what army?"

With things having escalated for the worst, Jack got out his syringe of cure-all he got from the Black Market Car before looking back at M.T. and Emma. He didn't know if it would actually work, but he can't let her die on his conscience. Jack's face tensed before he pushed Backscatter away. With the Hunter cast aside, Jack got out the syringe and handed it to M.T.

"I need you to get Emma as far away as you can and use this. I know it's cramped here, but try anyway!"

"Why? What is this thing?"

"If it works, something that'll save her life."

"What do you mean if it works?"

Before any answer could be given, Backscatter stood up with a growl before Jack snapped.

"Just do it!"

M.T. didn't like being told what to do. But as far as helping Emma survive, she nodded to him before she picked her up bridal style and tried to find a spot to use that'd be safe to use Jack's syringe with Jesse beside her. Jack glared at Backscatter before the Hunter chuckled to himself.

"So, you want round two that badly? Fine. Let's begin."

Backscatter made no hesitation to leap on Jack before he dodged it and got out his switchblade and attempted to slash at him, only for the Hunter to catch his arm. Jack looked at him in surprise before he replied.

"Sorry. Is this yours?"

Backscatter pulled Jack close before pushing him away to the wall. Backscatter leapt at him again before his hands were caught by Jack's, both of them pushing against each other while Jesse and M.T. set Emma down by the exit door to give Emma Jack's cure-all. But when she looked at her arm, she noticed that it was completely turned into a chrome-like metal. M.T. panicked over that as she took off the jacket and tried to find a proper injection point. But with most of her upper body turning chrome, she was running out of time quickly as Jesse spoke to M.T. in a hurried and fearful tone.

"We gotta get you guys out of here, M.T.!"

"What good is that if we don't help Emma?! Besides, we can't open the door unless we kick the toad! And he doesn't want to get kicked!"

However, having seen the events unfold the way they have, the toad actually had second thoughts. He saw how things were going between the group, and he didn't want the poor girl to die. Besides that, any passenger who ends up here usually ends up kicking him in the end. If he was to be kicked, it'll be on his terms. He hopped up in front of Emma, Jesse, and M.T., perplexing the first two as the Chrome girl piped up first.

"Kick me! Please, kick me!"

"Wait, now you want to get kicked?!"

"But why? I thought you hated that."

"If all my time in this car has taught me one thing, the toad always gets kicked. It's the only truth I know. And besides, I can't have one of y'all dying on me now. So kick me! Kick me straight in the Gracelands!"

Jesse raised his leg up to do so, but M.T. stopped him, remembering what that did to his number before.

"But your number will go up!"

Jesse looked back to his number before he saw Emma's increasingly fatal chances of survival before turning to see Jack pushing Backscatter away and landing a few hard punches with the Flecs burning a hole into the door. With the chaos that's going on, he can't risk Emma getting any injection with the potential of the cure-all shattering before it can be done.

"Who cares? We got to go, and fix Emma! Unless we want that thing to be broken."

M.T. had to agree with Jesse. She didn't want their only possible chance to shatter. She stood up beside Jesse and joined in.

"Fine! Let's just do it together!"

"One, two…"

Jesse and M.T. raised their legs simultaneously, but the toad began to have second thoughts at the worst possible time as he backed away.

"Well, now, don't get too excited, now. It's... it's still my body we're injuring."

In that moment, the toad inadvertently backed himself into Alan Dracula's hooves. The deer's eyes went wide before he did a kick behind him, launching the toad to the wall before opening the exit door beside Emma. She, Jesse, and M.T. became relieved, but it couldn't last long enough. The door that led to the car opened as well, sending Mace tumbling to the ground with the lawbreaker before they immediately made a run for it with M.T. picking up Emma and Visco stretching his upper body to pick up her jacket that was laying on the floor as she shouted to Jack with Alan Dracula rushing outside.

"Jack! We're getting out of here!"

Jack took notice of her and saw his cue as he saw Backscatter lunging at him again. This time, Jack took advantage of it and tripped him before he looked back to Mace as he was starting to get up before glaring at him. He had the nerve to bail on him, before. Jack wanted to give Mace a taste of his own medicine for that.

"The next time we see each other, you better give me a straight answer."

Jack then took off before Jesse realized something. Both doors opened when the toad was kicked. But if the toad were to leave with them… the Flecs and the Hunter wouldn't be able to chase them. It seemed like a good hypothesis, and it was a much better alternative than to have them chasing after the group. Jesse went back and picked up the toad, surprising him with how quick he was grabbed.

"Whoa, baby."

"Can't kick what isn't there!"

Jesse took off out of the car before the doors closed, sealing the Flecs and the Hunter inside and disabling the Lawbreaker, cutting off the cord before Mace yelled in a malicious fury as M.T. set Emma on the bridge before Jack looked back to her, seeing Emma was getting worse. Her whole head was practically chrome, just like M.T. as she moaned.

"What happened back there? Why didn't you use that thing like I told you?"

"I tried finding somewhere to inject this thing you gave me, but I can't find anything!"

Jack only grumbled before he sat down and looked to M.T.

"Move over. We don't have time."

M.T. moved herself farther away before Jack took her shirt off, exposing her skin. She was wearing nothing on her bare chest, quickly making Jesse turn his head away with a blush on his face as he spoke in embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry!"

But half of her body being naked didn't bother Jack nor M.T. in the least, not if it meant saving her life. Unfortunately, there weren't many spaces left untainted by Backscatter's poison. The chrome coating was spreading almost everywhere all at once. Then, at the last few moments that were left, Jack noticed a spot at her abdomen that was increasingly growing smaller before he shouted to M.T.

"Now!"

M.T. made no hesitation to place the needle in her abdomen, making Emma grunt before M.T. injected the solution. Once that was done, the chrome-like coating stopped spreading itself over Emma's body. For a while, it was in a standstill with nothing happening. M.T. and Jack were growing anxious for the wait while Jesse spoke with his hands over his eyes.

"Did it work?"

In a few seconds' time, the coating began to go away from the small spot that was left. M.T. and Jack looked on as Emma's body overtook the coating that once poisoned her until there was no trace of it left, not even the scar that Backscatter caused to her face had remained. With the poison gone, Emma shivered as she looked up at M.T. and Jack, seeing the look of worry on M.T. before the Chrome girl spoke up in a hopeful tone with a small onset of tears in her eyes.

"Emma. Are you… okay?"

Emma smiled back as she sat up and replied.

"Yeah. I'm okay."

M.T. made no hesitation to hug her as she made a light sob before she spoke softly.

"Don't ever do that to me again, okay?"

Emma smiled back as she replied softly.

"I can't make any promises, but… I'll try anyway."

Jack took a sigh of relief before he answered Jesse's earlier questions.

"Phew… Yeah, Jesse. She's fine now."

In that moment, though, M.T. began to blush dark grey on her cheeks, making Emma puzzled.

"What's wrong, M.T.?"

"I just realized you're half-naked."

It was Emma's turn to blush now. She hadn't noticed that before now, not even when she hugged M.T. In almost no time at all, Emma stopped the hug before covering her chest with her arms.

"What?! Where did my clothes go?!"

To answer, Visco squeaked while holding Emma's jacket while Jesse awkwardly held her shirt, which would've been blown away if he hadn't caught it before. Emma quickly took her clothes back before she looked back at M.T., knowing how embarrassed she must be for that.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that, M.T. It must've been embarrassing for you like it is for me."

Contrary to what she thought, M.T. only smiled at her as she replied.

"Hey, you were sick. Besides, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

Emma smiled back at M.T. with her blush going down some despite her situation. However, in all the excitement, they forgot about who was trapped in the car behind them with Mace shouting at them from the other side.

"This isn't over, sliver! I won't stop until—! Until…"

Mace laid his back on the door before he sighed and slumped to the floor. Sieve went over to Mace before he placed his hand on his shoulder and tried to comfort him.

"We'll get her, buddy."

Backscatter went up to the Flecs before he ended up laughing. Sieve heard him laugh before, but it was nowhere near as horrifying as that. It's almost like he enjoyed it. But what was there to enjoy if his hunt was in vain?

"Excellent! Finally, a hunt worthy of my name!"

Sieve looked at the hunter puzzledly. Everything about him was strange, especially moments like that.

"You're… happy they got away?"

"Of course. No wonder you couldn't capture them."

Mace grunted in anger from his antics.

"Yes! That's why we hired you! And if you can't even catch them-!"

Before Mace could finish his threat, Backscatter interjected him, glaring at Mace with a silver eye within the mask he wore.

"Oh, I will. But not until I learn everything there is to know."

---

Outside the car, M.T., Emma (who now has her shirt and jacket back on), and Jesse were celebrating their escape from the Flecs and the Hunter with M.T. high-fiving Jesse and Emma putting her arm around M.T.'s shoulder as she laughed.

"Yeah!"

"We did it!"

"Whoo!"

"Yeah!"

As for Jack, he was staring at the door he and the others barely made it out of. He had a look of dread on his face for the moment before Emma noticed it. She wanted to check on him, but before she could, the toad hopped out of Jesse's hands and spoke his gratitude.

"Thank you kindly for saving me from an existentially nightmarish existence. I won't soon forget it."

M.T. knelt down to the toad and spoke her own gratitude towards the amphibian.

"Well, thanks for letting us save Emma. I know you didn't like to be kicked."

The toad smiled back at M.T. before he replied.

"Better me than the bucket."

The toad then turned around and hopped all the way to the top of the next car as he shouted.

"Good-byeeeee!"

With the toad gone, Emma smiled while M.T. and Jesse became perplexed. Suddenly, the glow on Jesse and Emma's right hands started shifting, catching their attention as M.T. alerted them of it.

"Guys, your hands."

Emma and Jesse both looked at their hands, seeing a significant change. For Emma's number, it was at a "150" while Jesse's was at "14". For Jesse, it was a good amount of progress that had been made. The young man couldn't hide how grateful he was that he was one step closer to getting back to his brother Nate.

"Wow, down to 14! Thank you."

He quickly gave M.T. a hug. From Emma it was natural, but when it came to Jesse, it was a new experience for her. She tried to get used to it, but she couldn't deny how weird it felt to have someone else hug her. Despite it, she gave Jesse a pat on the back before smiling softly. Just then, Emma leaned in to quickly kiss M.T. on the lips, making her stop thu hug short with a mad dark grey blush on her face. Emma was blushing just as much as she spoke up, inadvertently cutting off M.T. as she tried to ask her.

"Did you just-?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, M.T. It's just that I can't help how I'm feeling. I really thought I'd never get the chance to do that again after… well, you know. And besides, we've been on this train for over 60 cars now. And I don't really know how time works on this car, but… I feel like we've gotten to know each other long enough, so…"

"Huh? Long enough for what?"

Emma gave herself a moment for the blush to go away before she answered.

"Well, let me put it this way. I realized that instead of running from my feelings like I did earlier in that car… maybe I should embrace them. That way we could work on our feelings together. That is, if… if you want to do it with me."

M.T. got the gist of what she was trying to say as she made a soft look before going over to Emma, holding her own hand on her elbow.

"Emma… I really want to, but you said it yourself. You're not meant to stay on the train forever. If you leave like that, it's gonna break both our hearts."

Emma gave her a soft smile as she held up her hand, showing her number to her.

"Yeah. But by the look of things, I think it'll be a long while before I go back to my mom. Maybe we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, so I think now's as good a time as any for me to come out and say it."

Emma took hold of M.T.'s hand and looked her in the eye as she posed the question.

"M.T.… Will you do me the honor… of being my girlfriend?"

Emma waited to hear her answer. But in a short moment, M.T. made a quick, long kiss on Emma's lips, taking her by surprise before she leaned into it as M.T. held onto her. Jesse looked on in wonder while Visco squeaked and Alan Dracula widened his eyes in surprise before the two stopped their kiss and looked at each other in the eyes.

"Does that answer your question?"

Emma smiled at that reply before she replied.

"Yeah. Good thing, too. 'Cause you kinda saw my boobs already, so there's no taking that back now."

This made M.T. blush again before she responded in a light-hearted tone.

"What? You're telling me I didn't have a choice?"

"Uh-uh! Too late! You said yes!"

Emma and M.T. began to laugh together as Jesse smiled. Jack turned his head back to see Emma and M.T. being together again before softly smiling himself as he walked back to the group. The passenger turned to see Jack, remembering his role in saving her life. She spoke up to him when he came close enough.

"Hey, Jack."

The old man looked up to the girl, wondering what she had to say.

"I want to thank you for that cure you gave me. If it wasn't for that, I might not be standing here right now."

Jack's face softened some before he smiled.

"You're welcome."

Jack was about to head to the next door, but Emma spoke up again.

"But, now I'm wondering. If you had that before, why didn't you use it when it started? Were you saving it for yourself before?"

Jack turned back to Emma, having a look on his face that told her it would be a long story that he would prefer to keep short as he sighed before he answered.

"Look, kid. For a long time, I've only been looking out for number one. And I was used to it. But seeing what you were going through… it made me realize that number one should be looking out for you."

Emma's face softened into a slight frown as her head tilted to her right before she spoke.

"Oh. I see. Well, thanks again."

Jack nodded to her as he spoke softly again.

"Sure thing. Anything else?"

Emma looked back to Jack before she spoke the question that had to be on everyone's mind at some point.

"Just one thing. Who are you, Jack?"

Jack looked around at the company beside him. M.T., Jesse, Alan Dracula, and Visco's eyes were on him for the answer as well before he answered to Emma with a stern, yet gentle tone.

"I can't tell you. Not yet. Seven cars with me isn't enough to earn my trust. But… maybe someday, I'll tell you all about it."

Jack then turned around and walked to the next door before Emma looked at her number. She has about as much time to sort her feelings out with M.T. as much as she does to figure out who Jack really is, according to her number. And she's going to make every moment she has left count.

"Yeah. Someday…"

A/N: So, what do you think? Pretty epic, right? Well, wait until you see the next chapter. I'll tell you now that it'll be the Parasite Car, but I'm gonna add a few elements into it to make it more dark than the canon counterpart, so you can be sure it would be hard-hitting to some extent. For now, don't expect anything too major so as not to get your expectations up.

A/N Update: Okay, in honesty, I kinda overlooked the issue about Jesse's phone in my writing, but it's fixed now. I hope that didn't cause too much of an uproar.