19th Clear Glass Moon, 908, Earlier in the day…

"Impossible! This cannot be!"

With the official launch of the Senbo-Wick train station mere moments away, lucky nobles of both kingdoms gathered in the Senbo town with their tickets at the ready to experience the ride of a lifetime. However, a commotion brewed at the front of the line, much to the nobles' annoyance.

The Herdier ticket man shook his head at the grieving Snorlax noble. "No tickets, no ride."

"There must be a mistake!" the Snorlax exclaimed as he patted himself down. "I purchased a ticket well in advance. I came all the way from the Wick Kingdom for this with my family!" He gestured to the impatiently waiting Abomasnow and his two annoyed Snover children. "Please! Just let us on the train, my good man!"

Herdier shook his head. "No tickets, no ride."

Snorlax glared before digging into his pockets, flashing a sack of coins. "Perhaps this will cover for the ride. Hmm, hmm!"

"No tickets, no ride."

"Is that the only thing you can say?!" The Snorlax winced as he heard his wife scoff with a grumble in her voice. "Dear?"

The Abomasnow shook her head. "Why am I not surprised you lost the tickets? You couldn't even keep track of your money last time. I told you not to wander around in Grimebrook, and look where it got you. I swear, I can't trust you with anything. Come along, children." She grabbed the kids by their hands and led them out of line.

The Snorlax hurried after her. "Dear, please! I told you before, someone robbed me! Wait for me!"

The Herdier ignored the distressed noble and focused back on the line. "Next." He furrowed his brow as a group of strange looking Pokémon stepped forward.

Leading the pack was a Growlithe with a large bushy beard contrasting the blue dress she was wearing. Behind her were a Toxicroak and Aron in decorative suits alongside a Smeargle wearing a dress and hiding their face behind a fan. They also all sported outrageous looking beards.

The young Growlithe reached inside her beard and produced four tickets. "Here you are, my good man," she said in a deep voice that sounded forced.

The Herdier squinted at the group, wondering if what he was seeing was indeed real or a sleep-deprived delusion from waking up so early in the morning. All he knew for certain was that they indeed had tickets and that's all that really mattered in the end.

He took the tickets and punched a hole into each of them. "There you go. Enjoy your trip, sir."

"Thank you, my good man." The Growlithe bowed before wandering into the train with her cohorts.

The ticket dog shook his head. "Strange fellow, but he had immaculate facial hair. Next!"

With the train about to make its grand voyage soon, cargo workers were doing one last round through the cargo wagon before stepping out and sliding the doors shut behind them. Darkness filled the wagon with the bustle of excitement permeating from the walls outside.

A tiny pink speck bounced out from a crack in a box and peered around the wagon. After a moment, she jumped off and reverted back to a full-sized Wigglytuff. "All clear."

The Dukes pulled themselves out of hiding and stretched their limbs. Hapi practically jumped out into the open, discarding her pillow armor, and faceplanted onto the floor. "Oh, sweet spacious space, how I missed you!"

"Shh!" Althalos hushed. "We're not out of the clear just yet." She squeaked and covered her mouth.

They heard a side door swing open, nearly spooking them, but relaxed upon seeing it was just Rogier. He discarded his fake beard and smoothed out his stolen uniform. "We should be safe. None of the passengers are allowed to access this section of the train, and there shouldn't be any train workers coming back here during the ride."

Althalos nodded and straightened up. "Good. That gives us plenty of opportunity to flee without interruption. How long is this ride exactly?"

Rogier crossed his arms. "From here to Barrenworth, it'll take about three to four hours according to the workers. We would have to jump the train within half that if we want to escape into Echo Bell."

Althalos scratched his chin. "Not a lot to go off of, but it's better than nothing. Once we escape, The Ghost will have a much harder time finding us."

"And your friend?" Hapi asked, pointing between the boxes and at the comatose Sawsbuck on the floor.

"Once we find somewhere to stay, we'll have to take up jobs to pay for a physician, and hopefully someone that can fix whatever Dr. Underhill did to him."

Marsaili glared. "I'll look forward to killing him next we meet."

"He's been in service to Terrowin before I was ever recruited. A brilliant man with twisted ambitions." He grunted. "He wasn't someone you wanted to cross paths with."

"Ugh. The Ghost and that creep. How many weirdos did that Terrowin bastard employ?"

"Far too many for my liking, hence why we can't show our faces to any of them. The Echo Bell has some of his influence, but not enough for us to be in immediate danger."

Rogier glared. "How much do you know about Last Autumn, anyway?"

"I didn't stay in his service without learning a thing or two. Terrowin has every intention to tear this region to the ground until he gets his say. He's a man of unstoppable conviction, and someone like that is a man you don't want to make an enemy of."

Rogier huffed. "You're actually afraid of that old man?"

Althalos nodded slowly. "He's the kindest man I've ever worked under, and he'll kill anyone that becomes a liability to his plans. That's not a man you can trust blindly. I've…always kept my wits about me, and I've come to carry secrets in my service to him."

Marsaili frowned. "Like what?"

"…" He closed his eye and sighed. "I don't know. I've always had this uncomfortable feeling whenever I had to make a personal visit. Something in that castle of his always freaked me out, but I could never place why. It's like whenever I go there, there's eyes staring at me from the walls."

She shivered and backed off. "Sorry I asked."

He shook his head. "Just trust me on this. All we can do is run. That's our only choice."

"…Right."

Hapi folded her arms behind her head. "Well, we have some time to kill. What should we do?"

Rogier pointed over his shoulder. "We could loot through the boxes and steal some stuff for the road."

"Sounds like a plan!" The two raced off into the forest of crates to begin their salvaging adventures.

Marsaili groaned. "That poor girl is going to go as braindead as him."

Althalos leaned up against the wall and closed his eye, taking a deep breath. For once in our lives, please let these be a smooth ride.

The last passenger had boarded the train and the whistle blew from its illustrious engine, sounding the beginning of its first voyage. Citizens of Crafton, swelling with pride, gathered at the station to watch their town's humble creation start a new journey in history.

Steam jettisoned from the funnel, and sparks ignited from the train's wheels via the gear Pokémon operating within. Slowly but surely, the wheels began to turn and propelled the vehicle forward. Two more whistles sounded, and the crowd cheered as the train started picking up speed.

From the crowd, however, someone stepped forward: a Shiny Lucario dressed like in a long trench coat and large hat covering his eyes. He chewed on a piece of wheat and carried a canteen in his hand, which he uncapped. He pushed his hat up and gazed upon the vehicle and the many, many auras inside.

"A storm is only a storm when it roars like the Litleo of the pack, yet fangs are still fangs to paper and leaves."

As the caboose came into his line of sight, he suddenly sprinted toward it, startling the bystanders. He leapt gracefully off the station platform and grabbed onto the end of the caboose, swinging himself aboard just as the train flew out of the station. He settled himself, keeping one hand on his hat, and sipped his water as he stared at the angry mob waving their fists at him.

"You young ewes who see fangs as shields, I pity your fog. True justice is beyond your foresight, but I am the absolute."

He capped his canteen and shoved it into his coat pocket. However, a bump in the track caused the drink to fly out and onto the tracks. He paid it no mind as he stared the caboose door.

"And I am The Ghost."

He heard the door unlock from the other side. He slid it open and entered, ignoring the tumbleweed that brushed past his legs. He pushed up his hat and projected his aura outward, searching out the various auras inside the train before locking onto a familiar group. One in particular was fiery, reminding him of the sun.

"Ogden is a forgiving man, Solberg. There's no point in fleeing. Why don't we take our time and enjoy the whistling of the wind before the crunching of bones?"

Pandora pressed her face up against the window and gawked as the landscape flew by them. "Oh my evilness, this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen! The speed, the ingenuity, the potential! This is the vehicle of my dreams, second only to my sky slayer!"

Ursula sat next to the bubbly Growlithe while Tank and Leon say in the seats across from them. Tank folded his fan and said, "Focus, Pan. We're here to work, not fangirl over the damn thing. We shouldn't be drawing too much attention to ourselves."

Leon glared. "We're wearing obviously fake beards. How much attention could we possibly not attract?" He raised his brow. "Actually, why are you the one wearing the dress and not Ursula?"

Ursula crossed her arms and huffed. "Do you know how impractical fighting in a dress is? There's no way you'd catch me dead in one of those things."

Tank scoffed and fanned himself. "You're just jealous I pull this look off better than you could."

"I'm not having this argument."

He snapped the fan shut and pointed at Leon. "Besides, it'd look pretty suspicious walking onto a train with my forge glove on. Not quite as simple as covering my prosthetic with a regular glove" He lifted the skirt some, showing that his treasured glove was hooked to his overalls underneath. "Useful hiding spot."

Leon rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Pandora pulled from the window and sat down. "The plan's simple. We just need the engine wagon. Tank and Leon will figure out how to safely disconnect the wagons while Ursula and I take control of the engine. Once I figure out how to drive this bad boy, it's smooth sailing back home with our brand new elementium."

"With a scolding and a half from Jason," Tank said.

She waved it off. "Bah! The second he sees the haul we brought in, he'll forgive us. How many people do you know who successfully stole an entire train?"

"This is literally the first train ever invented as far as I'm aware."

"Exactly!"

Leon peeked out down the aisle, taking note of the other seated nobles amongst the chatter. "There's still the issue of Sir Gaufroi and the Vaporeon aboard. We'll need to be extra careful. Perhaps we should consider misguiding them into one of the back wagons and stranding them from there."

"How do we do that?" Tank asked.

"If there's a disturbance, they're obligated to investigate. We could try luring them into the cargo wagon and disconnecting from there."

"Hmm. Yeah, that works for me."

Leon stroked his fake beard. "I just need to be careful. It's only been a few years since I last saw Sir Gaufroi, but I don't want him recognizing me."

Ursula frowned. "You could just help Pandora and I with the engine."

He shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'm sticking with Pandora's plan."

"Atta boy!" Pandora cheered. She jumped out of her seat and checked down the aisle. "It'll take some time before we arrive in Barrenworth. Survey the train and take your time isolating the knights away from us. Ursula, let's move." Ursula stood up and followed behind her, keeping her head down.

Tank stood up and walked down the opposite way. "Time for a little mayhem." He pulled out his fan and covered his face. "Shall we?"

"Right." Leon jumped from his seat and followed behind the blacksmith. "And do you really need to be doing that?! You look ridiculous."

"It's calling selling the look."

It had been a couple or so hours into the ride. The passengers enjoyed the luxuries of the train, taking part in selections of wine and chatting about a variety of topics that fell on deaf ears to the two Senbo knights patrolling the walkway. Rikmai was occasionally distracted by the fancy foods, though in a thinly veiled attempt not to butter up the young noble men they passed.

Gaufroi reached the end of the wagon and took a courtesy scan of the people. "Nothing yet."

Rikmai chuckled. "Maybe they were worrying over nothing. The Foresters would have to be crazy to try and rob the train."

"One can't be too sure." He opened the wagon door and stepped out onto the connecting walkway. The wind blew through his fur and stung his eyes, yet he persisted and entered the next wagon. Rikmai followed behind and closed the doors behind her. "It's been a strange few weeks."

Rikmai looked up at him. "Not that I'm doubting you, but why did you tell Erasmus to capture the Foresters rather than kill them? I mean, it's a pretty big crime trying to assassinate a prince."

"…" He looked away.

"You don't think they actually did it, do you?"

"…" He sighed. "It just all seems too coincidental for my liking." He stepped aside as a Growlithe and Toxicroak passed by them. "If they were caught in the act, that'd be one thing. Still, the way he was struck down in the foyer AND poisoned by one of our staff just after the scandal in Verde? At the very least, they deserve a chance to speak."

Rikmai frowned. "Or is it you don't want to falsely execute a child?"

"…They're young. I don't know what they want or what their goals are, but I suppose that's part of it. No one wants to lose a young life." He sighed and shook his head. "Especially when you never got to see them."

Her eyes widened. "Gaufroi?"

"I…" He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry. Flashbacks. Too many of them."

She patted his side. "I understand. I won't pry."

"Thanks." He took a deep breath and wiped his brow. "Can you go on ahead? I need to take a breather."

She nodded. "Sure." She slinked around him and traveled down the walkway.

Gaufroi found a spare seat and rested himself onto it. He bent over and tried to catch his breath. He could feel his heart thumping hard in his chest. He felt hot inside his armor, too. He felt awful.

I don't want her worrying about me. Or any of them. I just need…a moment to rest.

Pandora and Ursula reached the front of the train. Pandora propped herself onto Ursula's shoulders and peeked inside, spotting the Crawdaunt conductor as he overlooked the engine room's controls. A panel of fancy levels and pulleys unlike anything the mad scientist had seen beyond her own inventions. It was a revolutionary sight for her.

"So coooool~," she whispered, pressing her face to the glass.

Ursula pulled away and set her down. "So, we just need to get him out of the way without alerting the knights. I could knock him out."

Pandora gave her a deadpan stare. "Have you ever knocked someone out without killing them?"

"Hey, I can be gentle when I need to."

"Let's not hedge our bets on him taking a snooze for the rest of the ride." Pandora scratched her chin. "No, this requires some deception." She grinned. "Ursula, could you do me a favor?"

"If it requires me to seduce him, forget it."

"Just trust me." Pandora rapped her paw against the door, alerting the conductor. She and Ursula quickly threw their beards off and tossed them.

The conductor slid the door open and smiled. "Oh. Good day, young ladies. Is there something I can help you with?"

Pandora clasped her paws together and sighed. "Oh, my good man, we are just taking a tour of this lovely contraption. Simply a marvel of technological achievement. I'm truly blessed to be one of its first passengers." Learning how to talk fancy from Melissa is finally paying off!

The Crawdaunt laughed. "Yes, I suppose it is."

Pandora frowned. "Oh, but I hope we're not distracting you."

He waved it off. "Oh, no need to worry about that. Those gear Pokémon are handling most of the driving." He pointed down at their feet. "See, just below us, those Pokémon are hooked up to a mechanism that allows them to power the engine. The power reacts to the elementium core hooked up inside here, manipulating internal pressure to operate the pistons. This whole engine is what allows the train to move. So long as I stick to the schedule and send the necessary orders to the gears, we should be fine. I'm just here to keep an eye on the controls and potential hazards, but it should be a smooth ride from here."

Pandora smirked, clicking her claws together. "Very fascinating."

"Was there anything you wanted to know?"

She waved it off. "Oh no, I'm just a humble noblewoman. I'm afraid topics of pistons and pressure is far too complicated for my upper class blood." She pushed Ursula forward. "My acquaintance, however, is interested."

Ursula's eyes widened. "I am?"

"She's so shy. I had to practically drag her down here. I mean, she told me that you are a living legend!"

The Crawdaunt's eyes widened. "I am?"

"She went on and on about this historical moment. You, the first to operate a train in Virdis. Ever since she found out about this wonderful vehicle, she became obsessed with them. She would be ever so grateful if you could answer some questions about how you landed this prestigious position from the royal family. Riiiiight, dearie?"

Ursula gulped and pulled on her collar. "Uh, sure?"

The conductor removed his hat and wrung it between his pincers. "Oh my, I am…I am quite flattered, miss. I never thought much of this position, but you truly think I'm a legend?"

She forced a grin. "Yeeeees?"

"Well, how can I refuse such a humble request? I'd be honored to answer any questions you may have."

"Hehehe, greeeeeat." Pandora, I'm going to kill you.

Pandora pulled the conductor out of the engine room. "Why don't you both talk out here away from that noisy equipment? Much more spacious out here."

"A brilliant idea!" The conductor dug his pincers into the wall and pulled down a collapsible seat. He sat down and gestured to Ursula. "There's one right behind you."

Ursula sighed and also pulled up a collapsible seat. "Alright, um…questions. Heh, I wish I had some planned out." She drummed her fingers against her leg. "So, what…did you do before this?"

"A fine question, my dear. I, Thomas Newman, was an ambitious young man with big dreams for the future. I believe it all started when I decided to open my own carpentry business in my early years…"

Ursula suppressed a groan as she leaned back into the wall. Pandora snickered to herself before sneaking away into the engine room, shutting the door behind her. With any luck, she'll have the room to herself long enough to begin the first phase of their plan.

"Now, let's have a look at that core." She searched around for the main compartment before locating it under the control panel. Pressing her paw to it, she could feel a little bit of heat escaping from the edges, but not enough to make the affected area unbearable to stand near. She curled her paw into the latch and lifted the hatch open.

A wave of heat rose up and struck her face, venting out into the room. She pushed the hatch to the upright position and gazed upon the large rock sitting inside. Electricity coated its outer body, refracting a prism of yellow light inside. It was hooked into a bowl of sorts with metal pipes pressed to its surface, likely redirecting the energy flow to generate pressure in the pistons.

Pandora closed the hatch and stood up. "Oh, this is beautiful. You'll be mine soon, my little rock of miracles." She jumped into the engine seat and gazed upon the controls. "Now, I just need to figure out what these levers and pulleys do without causing mass destruction. Easy!"

Leon kept a hold of his hat as the wind blew between the wagons. He bit down on a rope to support Tank, who was hanging upside down to examine the connectors keeping the wagons linked together. Leon grunted through his teeth and yelled, "How much longer are you going to take?!"

"Patience," he said. He reached out at the connector linking the two wagons together. He ran his hand over it, determining the thickness of the metal and vibrations traveling through it. "Alright, the connector's pretty thick. It's being held together by a metal rod, which would be nearly impossible for either of us to pull out while the train's moving."

"S-So?"

"Fortunately, I'm just as good at dismantling equipment as I am making them." Tank grabbed the railing and pulled himself back up. "Once Pandora gives us the go ahead, it'll take me at least a couple minutes to disconnect the wagons."

Leon spat out the rope. "Leaving everyone, including the knights, stranded out here."

"Exactly. After that, it's just a few simple modifications to give this thing all terrain capability. Granted, I might need access to at least one of the passenger wagons for materials, so we'll need to scare everyone deeper into the train."

"Shouldn't be too hard, though we would need to time it between getting rid of them and you disconnecting the wagons. By the time someone alerts the knights, it won't take long for them to come after us."

Tank scratched his chin. "We agreed to create a distraction in the cargo hold. Starting a fire would draw away a lot of attention. Nothing too hectic, but something to keep them out of our hair. That would at least draw away the Vaporeon. Gaufroi might have to do crowd control to settle the passengers down."

Leon opened the wagon door and let them inside. "Not really my field of expertise, so I'll leave that to you."

Tank crossed his arms. "I'll have to sneak into the cargo area and assess a suitable burn site before we launch the plan. A controlled burn can be difficult without the proper tools, but it's manageable."

Leon closed his eyes and sighed. "If you say so."

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just…I don't know."

Tank narrowed his eyes. "Look, you made a mistake. Everyone does it, and some are worse than others. If you want any shot at forgiveness for yourself, you need to stop moping around and put in the effort to redeem yourself."

"And how do I do that?"

He shrugged and walked ahead. "In my experience, doing something really stupid to help a friend in need."

Leon looked up. "You speak from experience?"

"…" Tank frowned at his prosthetic hand and curled it into a fist. "I relate to you a lot. I actually had a bit of pyrophobia myself some years ago. I got over it."

The Aron's eyes widened. "You? Pyrophobia? Why?"

"I don't like talking about it. Let's just say there's a reason I joined the Foresters when Jason first offered me. After all, when you're a part of an infamous thief guild, you get around." He waved him along and walked down the aisle.

Leon lingered on his remark, wondering what was going on in the Smeargle's head, but decided to put a pin in it for later. Adjusting his half-mask and taking a breath, he followed behind the blacksmith.

"Woo!" Rogier ripped open another crate and dug through its contents. "Look at all this premium metal. The Senbo Kingdom is practically giving this stuff away."

Hapi poked out of another crate, holding up bundled packages. "Guess who just found preserved, Senbo-quality meats?"

"Score! No more bland meals for the week!"

Marsaili groaned as the pair hopped between crates, stepping over the crate stuffing being thrown to the floor. "Can you two exercise a bit more caution? We're trying to hide back here."

Rogier waved her off. "Relax, Mars. Unless we were banging against the walls like asylum inmates, no one's going to hear us. The walls are thick and not even connected to the next wagon, plus the wheels on tracks will drown everything else out."

"We have been running for months now. I don't want to go back to jail and have to plot another prison break."

"Meh." He dove back into the crate, throwing packaging paper out.

Althalos, who had been observing with his back to the wall, huffed. "Leave it be, Marsaili." He glared at the wagon door's mini window. "It's been a little over a couple hours. We should be in Echo Bell territory right now."

She glared. "And you're sure jumping out of here is the safest bet?"

"Like I said, I can handle that. Excuse me a moment." He turned to the cargo door and phased his head through.

He squinted against the wind whipping his face and scanned the scenery. Rolling green fields and towns were within sight. Of note to his observations were the few rivers he could make out either running parallel or intersecting each other. There wasn't little to no desert-like terrain he could see, and the timeframe of their departure matched to their relative location.

He pulled back into the wagon and nodded. "Definitely in Echo Bell. I'll undo the latch, then we'll bail."

Rogier jumped out of the crate, carrying armfuls of iron ingots. "Fantastic! Maybe we can sell off some of this crap and speed up that medical bill for Terrick."

Althalos sighed. "Do as you wish, but we're leaving now."

Hapi ran over to another crate and dug her hands under the lid. "One more for the road!" She pried the lid loose and tossed it onto the floor. She pulled herself over the edge and dug into the packing paper, but stop as she got halfway down. She scrunched her face. "What the?"

Marsaili glared at her. "What?"

"Someone come look at this."

The Wigglytuff groaned and walked over to her. She pulled herself over the crate to look only for her face to mirror Hapi's. "What in the…Boss, you've got to see this."

Althalos, who was using his Abyss Clouds to tamper with the cargo door's lock, said, "Kind of busy here."

"Seriously, look!"

He sighed and turned away from the lock. "What is it?"

Marsaili dove inside for a moment and sprung back out with a lockbox in her hands. "There's like ten of these in this one crate. And…" She shook it close to her ear. "Sounds like there's coins inside."

Althalos glared and floated over. "Money boxes?" He pulled it from her hands with Poltergeist and examined it. "And there's nine more of these inside?"

Rogier peeked down, moving aside the remaining paper. "Hey, she's right. They're all just laid out on the bottom of the crate."

Hapi jumped inside and picked another one up. "Why would someone transport this much money in a huge box like this? This seems like too much."

Marsaili shrugged. "Seems kind of irresponsible if you ask me."

"Well, there are knights guarding the train."

"We're a group of criminals scavenging through the cargo hold. They're doing a shit job."

"Who would think to rob a train moving this fast? I imagine most Flying-Types would struggle escaping from inside here."

As they debated, Althalos took notice of the discarded crate lid. He put aside the lockbox and picked the lid up. His eye wandered down until he spotted a seal marked in red ink. It was an emblem of a broadsword wrapped in thorny vines.

His eye widened. "This…" He sprung up and floated around the crate until he found a packaging slip on the back. He skimmed through the details until he saw the names of the sender and the recipient, a company called Potions A-Plenty. "Oh no."

Rogier popped out of the box. "Boss?"

"This is a black market dealing!"

His team's eyes widened. "A what?!"

Althalos lifted the crate lid and showed the emblem. "This is the emblem of House Westerberg. Count Victor Westerberg is one of Terrowin's benefactors, and he has ties to the black market. This money is being transported to one of Terrowin's suppliers in charge of producing Wraith."

"In the Wick Kingdom?!" Marsaili gasped. She paused as soon as she said it and frowned. "Actually, that makes a lot of sense."

"But why transport it like this?" Rogier asked.

"Because it's like Marsaili and Hapi were discussing a moment ago. There's no easy way to escape a moving train, especially with this much money to carry. The speed were going at can throw even a Psychic or Ghost-Type off balanced. Victor doesn't care if anything happens to his money. He's probably testing ways to use the train system to Last Autumn's advantage."

Marsaili gasped. "To smuggle Wraith into the Senbo Kingdom!"

Rogier scratched his chin. "…Nope, you lost me."

She grabbed him by the shirt and shook him. "Wraith in the Senbo Kingdom, you dimwit! Last Autumn is planning to invade the capital!"

Althalos shook his head. "More likely setting up countermeasures if the Tetrarchs and Talbots were to have an altercation with each other. That's why the Tetrarchs helped fund the train. If they establish trust with each other, no one's going to think twice about illicit substances being delivered back. If they stay allies, it won't come to pass. If they become enemies…"

Rogier narrowed his eyes. "…Okay, I think I'm starting to get an idea of what you mean."

"He couldn't have been more obvious!" Marsaili shouted, slapping him repeatedly in the face. She dropped him and ran to the cargo doors. "All the more reason to cut and run before we get involved! I'm busting this lock open!"

Rogier picked himself up. "Shouldn't we get rid of the money?"

"As if that'll do anything substantial!"

"We could inform the knights on board."

She laughed dryly at him. "Shall I list off every single reason why that is a terrible idea right now?"

Althalos groaned. "Both of you, stop arguing and—"

CLANG!

Everyone froze as the metallic clang rattled through the cargo wagon. Slowly, they craned their necks and stared at the opposing door on the other side of the wagon. A shape was visible in the window, but that was far from their concerns. A set of metallic claws dug their way through the door, ripping through the locking mechanism.

Althalos's eye widened. "Hide."

"B-Boss—" Marsaili whispered.

"I said hide."

Everyone quickly piled behind the crates where Terrick was being hidden. Rogier and Marsaili bundled together, holding each other for support, while Hapi hugged her legs and rocked herself against the wall. Althalos kept his head down with Abyss Clouds forming around his hand.

They heard the door being ripped from its hinges and scraping against the doorframe, seemingly flying out into the open. The ambience of wind and rolling train wheels filled the silence, but their blood froze as footsteps marched into the wagon. Someone whistled a tune, something that sounded casual with the foreboding feeling of danger no different to an orchestra playing in a haunting play.

Ectoplasmic sweat dripped down Althalos' face. He wanted to peek out around the crates to see who it was, but feared being spotted. His Abyss Clouds wavered in his hand. He could feel the trembling of his team as they struggled to keep their mouths shut. Hapi had to cover her snout inside her scarf as smoke and embers huffed out.

The footsteps stopped, and Althalos could feel the pressure of something standing on the other side of the crates.

"Heroes die, cowards live. This is the cycle of justice and history."

It took considerable willpower from everyone not to scream at the top of their lungs, though hopelessness entered their hearts as their situation became clear. That was a voice they dreaded to hear, the man who murdered Seismic Frank.

"Ghosts live. They see things. Generations pass, but a legend remains the same. We tell stories, and stories become people. Peace was always an option, yet we reject because we were given choice. We of Virdis were given life anew by our ancestors. A land uncivilized and unfounded by blueprints, never deciphered, but minds find a way. A constant must remain, and that constant remains to the future. Why do you reject peace?"

Althalos clenched his fist, stirring up his Abyss Clouds over his arm. The bastard's messing with us. He knows exactly where we are. Did he run after the train? Or was he here the whole time? If that's the case, he could've killed us at any moment. He's been screwing with us this whole time!

"Freedom is a right, but rights are abused. Some don't deserve its luxuries, and others take advantage. All Ogden wanted was to preserve history, yet savages never truly escaped the past. The Elysivine Kingdom wasn't a kingdom, but a forest for the savages to tear down to build their nests. Did we not matter? Did we even exist in their deforestation?"

What the hell is he talking about? Althalos glared. Elysivine Kingdom?

"Why can't you accept death? This is all in the name of a great rebirth, and you wish to sully peace? Do not stare at Yveltal's bloody wings with such revulsion. Think of it as an embrace, knowing your deaths will ensure a kingdom without suffering. Why would you stand in the way of peace?"

Bastard's talking crazy again. Althalos lit up his Abyss Clouds with Will-O-Wisp. I only have one shot at this.

"But this is a formality, and I am The Ghost."

The Dukes' eyes widened as a silverly light shined from behind their hiding spot. Rogier and Marsaili buried each other in their arms while Hapi dropped to the floor, covering her head. Althalos, seeing the remains of his team cowering, growled at the opposition and started to rise.

I won't let you take any more of my team!

However, just as he was about to rise to full height, the light dissipated. Startled, Althalos dropped back down with his attack still active. The rest of the Dukes cracked one eye open, wondering why they were still alive.

Althalos reluctantly peeked up over the crates and saw the Shiny Lucario in his full infamy, yet the jackal seemed distracted. He was staring down the other side of the train where the passenger wagons were. Althalos saw his focused stare, something he only saw once when he tried to take Hapi.

"MacGyver?"

Althalos glared. Who?

The Ghost narrowed his eyes. "No. Not MacGyver. Someone else. You're MacGyver."

Althalos looked to his team, who only offered him the same befuddled expressions. If there wasn't reason before the bounty hunter was a deranged poetaster suffering from brain damage, they found one today.

"MacGyver. Blueprint. Arbiters. Talos. Logos." The Ghost blinked his eyes, as if coming out of a trance, and glared. "My apologies, Solberg, but it appears I cannot escort you to Ogden. And to you, Dukes of Buzzard, I cannot grant justice this day. Primary orders take priority."

Althalos sprung from hiding and thrusted his flaming hand at the bounty hunter. "You—" His hand grazed the air instead with no sparkling jackal in sight. Only a wing of dust blowing across the floor was left in his place. He clenched his fist and extinguished the flames. "Dammit!"

With the danger averted, Rogier and Marsaili awkwardly let go of each other and scooted away. Marsaili coughed into her fist and said, "Not a word of this ever again."

"Already forgot."

Hapi rose to her feet, trembling at the knees. "Mr. Althalos, what the hell just happened? What was he saying just now?"

Althalos narrowed his eye. "I don't know." The Abyss Clouds flared up around his fist, startling the group.

"Boss, what are you doing?" Marsaili asked.

"He was this close to killing us, and he decides to run." The wagon and its cargo trembled under the ghostly pressure emanating around the Dusknoir. "You all find a way off the train. Now."

Rogier glared. "And what about you?"

Althalos slammed his hand down on the floor, generating black mist. "What I should've done last time: crush him into paste."

Tank and Leon traveled through the wagons until they reached the one connected to the cargo wagon. They passed by the other passengers, once more too engrossed in conversation to pay them mind. They walked up to the door and tried to open it, only to find it was locked shut.

"Tch, figures," Tank said. "They don't want anyone getting back here."

"Can you unlock it?" Leon asked.

"Child's play." Tank reached inside his dress and pulled out a lockpicking kit. "I'm not as skilled as Shingo, but this should take me a couple minutes."

Leon glared at the noble passengers. "Not like anyone cares to notice—"

They both jolted as something pounded over the roof of the wagon. It startled the passengers, who all gazed up to search for the source of the noise. Tank and Leon could hear the sound traveling all the way down and getting quieter until it reached the end of the wagon.

"Were those…footsteps?" Leon asked.

Tank narrowed his eyes. "The only wagons behind here are the cargo hold and the caboose." He put his lockpicks away and pressed his hand to the lock. The metal hissed as it turned red hot from the heat he was generating.

Leon's eyes widened. "What are you—"

"Something's going on back there and I need to figure out what—"

"What's going on here?"

Both Foresters froze, feeling the lumbering presence of someone standing behind them. They turned around and gazed up at the hulking, armored Ursaring with an axe sheathed to his back. Next to him was a Vaporeon who, while not as intimidating, gave the boys an icy glare.

Tank slowly raised his hands over his head. "We can explain."

Rikmai crossed her forelegs and huffed. "Were you two trying to break into the cargo hold?"

Leon looked away. "Uh…"

Gaufroi kneeled down to their level. "We just heard a disturbance as soon as we entered this wagon. You two wouldn't happen to be responsible, right?"

Tank glared. Just when they entered? That means they were on the connecting bridge outside when we heard those footsteps. How the hell did they miss someone jumping over their heads? Who was that?

"Wait…" Rikmai reached out and ripped the beards off the two. "Why are you two wearing fake beards? And why are you wearing a dress, sir?"

Tank put on his best deadpan expression. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Uh, well…no, but—"

"Forget that." Gaufroi grabbed Tank by the arm. "You're coming with me for questioning. Both of you." He looked down at Leon, who was trying to hide his face from him. "What's with you?"

"N-Nothing. I…"

Just before tensions could escalate, something banged on the other side of the door. Both Foresters and knights turned their attention off each other and to the door's mini window, where they saw a black cloud encroaching over the glass. The glass cracked as the clouds pushed against it, and the metal groaned and bulged inward.

Gaufroi glared. "What the…?"

Tank squinted. "That looks like…" His eyes widened. "Everyone, get away from the door!"

It was too late. The door was thrown open and knocked the group to the floor. A black fog flooded the wagon and encroached over the wall, scaring the passengers. Everyone jumped from their seats and raced to the end of the wagon, but the clouds blocked off the door.

Gaufroi shoved the unhinged door off himself and reached for his axe, but tendrils fired out of the floor and grappled around him. "W-What is this?!" The tendrils brought him down to his knees.

"Sir Gaufroi—WHA!" Rikmai dodged a pair of tendrils and landed on a booth seat.

Tank picked up Leon and tried to run to the other end of the wagon, but his foot got caught in the clouds. They fell to the floor and were lifted up, wrapped up in the darkness. They could feel it constricting around them, pinning their limbs down tight.

All the passengers were soon wrapped up in the clouds and held hostage in the air, screaming for help. As Gaufroi and the thieves tried to shake themselves loose, a figure entered through the broken doorway.

Leon's eyes widened. "That's…!"

Tank growled. "I knew it."

Althalos lumbered into the entrapped wagon, scraping his hook down the doorframe. His Abyss Clouds wrapped around him like a cloak, shifting like sand in the wind. He glared down the aisle, staring at his terrified hostages with fury he had been holding in for weeks.

"You should've killed us when you had the chance, you murderous freak."

He squeezed his fist, causing the Abyss Clouds to constrict around the wagon and slowly crush it. It agitated his hostages, sending them into panicked fits. Gaufroi, struggling to get back onto his feet, glowered at the stowaway with heavy breaths venting through his teeth.

Althalos pointed his hook hand down the train. "You made the mistake of hunting us onto this mechanical wagon. Now, I shall escort you to hell with Frank and make this carriage your tomb!"

"…Business was slowing down during the winter months, and I needed to supply myself with a new income to take care of my family. I knew in our changing landscape that valued mechanical ingenuity, I needed to follow the path of Senbo. I had no such knowledge in engineering, but I spent many sleepless nights learning everything I could to contribute to our society. It was a long road, filled with hours of frustration and failure, but it was all for them: my darling family. I struggled and struggled, day and night, feeling hopeless in my pursuits, but I didn't let that stop me—"

Ursula struggled to stay awake as she listened to Thomas' story. She tried to stay engaged, she truly did, but listening to someone talk and talk for over half an hour waned on her patience. She could be nurturing and empathetic with someone's personal struggle to success. It was something she related to. However, the man went into so much painstaking detail about his life that she considered faking a medical emergency just to get him to stop talking.

Fortunately, something managed to interrupt the conversation. Unfortunately, it was Pandora sounding the train's whistle.

They flinched as the loud, wailing whistle sounded unexpectedly outside. Thomas immediately sprung from his seat and threw the control room's door open, where he found a sheepish Growlithe standing on a stool with her paws around the whistle's pulley.

"Uh…" Pandora looked between the irate conductor and the pulley. "I slipped?"

"What are you doing?" Thomas exclaimed, dragging her off the stool. "Were you trying to do something to the controls?" He gasped and turned to Ursula with a hurt expression. "Were you distracting me?!"

Ursula looked away. "Uh…"

"I poured my heart and soul out for you, and this is the thanks I get?!"

She glanced at Pandora, who was miming a chopping motion down on the Crawdaunt's head while pointing at her. Ursula mouthed a frantic no back at her.

"I cannot believe this!" Thomas shoved past Ursula and marched to the exit. "I'm going to call the knights down here so they can handle this."

Ursula reached out. "Wait, hang on! You don't need to—" She froze as Thomas swung the door open. She and Pandora felt their blood turn cold, but the Crawdaunt didn't seem to notice as he turned back to them.

"You're not talking your way out of this one. You would dare manipulate an old man's heart so callously. Did my story not make you weep? Were you not moved by my struggles during the lumber shortage and my persistence to keep my business afloat? Was my grand tale of discovering love so uninspired that you wished for instant slumber? I…I'm sorry, I just need a moment to process all this—"

Before he knew it, the Crawdaunt conductor was grabbed by the back of his head and slammed into the wall. Ursula and Pandora gasped as pieces of his shell chipped off the facial area. He limply collapsed to the floor and fell unconscious. Bloodstains were smeared into the wall with fragments of his shell.

The girls nervously turned their eyes to the man standing in the doorway, his trench coat flapping in the wind. The Shiny Lucario pushed his hat up and glared down at them, though Pandora could feel his eyes were trained on her specifically.

"You are one difficult man to find, MacGyver."