A/N: And here it is, the next chapter for Emma's Story. Sorry it took me so long. Hopefully, I won't have to change the release date of The Apex Predator, at least not before The Mall Car and The Wasteland are posted. And also, the number of chapters have been changed as well. Counting the prologue and epilogue, there will be eighteen. So, you might expect a little delay here and there. But you can be sure that I will get quite a lot of work on this story. So don't lose faith, my friends. :)

Chapter 1: The Hunting Lodge Car

This truly was a weird way to start her journey. It certainly wasn't in the plan to get whisked away by a train that seemed to go on and on. Who knows how far away she is from her mother now? For all she knew, she might as well be in a different dimension. But at least she wouldn't have to be alone.

On the way, she'd already met her slime gerbil companion. Emma was surprised by how elastic it was. Beside that, it seemed to relate well with her on being alone with no one to look out for her; most of the time back home, it was her that had to look out for her mother. And then, there's the Chrome girl.

She wasn't exactly a happy camper when they first met. And it also looked like she had little to no faith in passengers for them being stuck on the train. All the same, her apology somehow made her number go down, an example she must've been trying to show Emma. Hoping to get good progress with her, Emma had asked to tag along with her, just going through the same direction. She agreed to it, but she didn't bother giving Emma her name. She was mysterious in a lot of ways, but so far it's helped her. Emma could only hope her number would go down to zero before it's too late…

It was only a matter of hours before Emma and the chrome girl were at the bridge again, having gone through what felt like 10 cars so far. They were headed to the door as Emma was having fun with her slime companion. She hasn't forgotten her goal, but that didn't mean she can't have fun on the way. The girl looked to the little slime gerbil before she spoke.

"Well, that makes this car number 11. What do you think we'll find in there, buddy?"

The slime gerbil only looked up to her before Emma began to do a squeaky voice, as if it was the one talking.

"I just hope there aren't any death traps like the one I pulled you out of."

Emma made a scoff with her normal voice before she retorted.

"That was only the first car. You don't have to be such a worry-wart."

"I can't help worrying about you; you're awesome!"

Emma made a slight laugh as she brushed her companion's head.

"Yeah, you're right. I am."

The chrome girl simply rolled her eyes. She had to deal with it for the past five cars when Emma decided to give her companion a voice. She had to admit, though, it was charming up to a point. But there's a limit to everything, her patience included.

"You know, it's weird to be talking for your slime hamster. You're weird."

Emma only made a smirk as she turned to the chrome girl and spoke up.

"Come on. You're just jealous that I'm vocally ranged. Besides, he likes it. Don't you, buddy?"

The slime gerbil gave Emma an affirmative squeak as he nodded before the chrome girl sighed and opened the door while she spoke to herself.

"At least let him speak for himself…"

Emma overheard the chrome girl's snide remark, but she interpreted it as general advice, even though she didn't mean it to be like that.

"Well, I've tried, but all that came out are squeaks and silence. And I can't translate either of them."

Emma began to dawn on something right then. Maybe she can't understand it, but that didn't mean it never understood her. It could be possible for it to be able to signal her, at least.

"Hey… maybe I can use that."

The chrome girl felt as if it was high time, suggesting she practiced the latter.

"Great. You can work on the silence. In fact, I recommend it."

Emma simply rolled her eyes, shrugging off the chrome girl's comment as she and her companion followed the chrome girl into the door. When they have, they were utterly starstruck to see their location. It was a path with 4 large chunks of land in front of them, united by a singular path. The first chunk they stumbled upon was the Summer variety. It had a warm sun hanging over in the sky with a beach in the background. And up ahead, there were also the rest of the seasons.

Past the Summer Zone, there was a path where there were many fallen leaves with birch trees in the background, as well as a booth that said "RENTAL" on it that had a simple jacket that could change color from red to yellow to orange and so on. It looked pretty cool, but with her clothes, Emma didn't find it necessary. And after that, the path led to a chunk of land where snow fell and the background had a snowman just outside the path, along with a heavy snow coat in another rental booth just at the start of that path. And after that, there's a calm patch of land with the sun overhead in a partly cloudy area with the grass in the background, with the addition of a rental booth with a short-sleeved shirt shifting in-between colors, presumably the Spring area. Emma and the chrome girl proceeded onward as the former spoke to her companion.

"Well, at least you won't have to worry about the traps. Now let's see if we can't figure out your name."

As they walked in the Summer path, the group was stepping in a trail of sand in a brighter color than the sand in the background. In the meantime, Emma thought of giving her companion the chance to speak for itself in another way. It might as well be another form of charades.

"Okay. Is it… Jello?"

Her companion only gave her a blank stare, as if it was staring into her soul. Even when she was used to the silence, Emma still found it unsettling as she spoke to herself, not sure if it was offensive.

"Okay, probably not… Uh, how about Gummy?"

Yet again, her companion gave her a blank stare. Emma was running out of options there as she pondered to herself, prior to noticing the sweat on her forehead and brushing it off as she looked to the Chrome girl, who didn't show any signs of sweating at all.

"Boy. It's really hot, huh?"

"Eh. I can deal."

Later, in the Fall path, the group was stepping on a pile of crushed leaves with the Chrome girl leading the way. The sun overhead was blocked by the trees with red leaves, so it gave them some shade from the hot sun, which was fortunate for Emma. It allowed her to be able to think again without worrying over the sweat.

"Alright. It's not Gummy, and it's definitely not Jello. So how about… Moldy?"

While it gave her another blank stare, however, Emma realized herself how terrible it sounded.

"No. No, that sounded bad the moment it left my mouth."

Emma looked up to the Chrome girl for further advice. She hoped she'd at least come up with a better name.

"Do you have any ideas?"

The Chrome girl simply turned around and spoke to her in a sarcastic tone.

"No, but keep going. I'm sure you'll come up with other names to offend him."

Emma made a slight frown at her comment, but she brushed it off. Her companion was capable of being upset, but it didn't show any sign of that from her names. So, she pressed on until she found one that suited him, or found out what his real name was, whichever came first.

In the Winter area, Emma was wearing a big red jacket and red gloves with her companion sitting on her palms as she braved the cold temperature. The Chrome girl, on the other hand, didn't bother picking up a coat. The cold itself didn't seem to have any effect on her. As a matter of fact, she didn't care that she was waist-deep in snow as they walked on the path while Emma continued to guess.

"Okay, is it… Jiggles?"

Her companion continued to stare at her blankly before she thought about what her companion could do.

"Hold on. You can stretch. So… is it Stretchy?"

Although the slime gerbil didn't answer, the Chrome Girl was getting agitated very quickly, letting out a frustrated groan as they finally crossed out of the Winter path and moved on to the Spring section.

There was a tree beside the path, along with the exit door in front of them. A butterfly was flying past them, making the slime gerbil look at it in interest before it sprouted out wings on its back. It flapped its wings, making Emma gasp in surprise and joy.

"Oh, my gosh! You have cute little wings, now!"

And as it happened, it gave Emma another idea for her companion's name as she tried to relay it.

"Oh, this one's gotta work. How do you feel about… 'Shifty'?"

It only resulted in yet another blank stare from the gerbil before Emma turned to the Chrome Girl for her opinion. She'd ran out of options then and there, and she didn't want to strain herself too much trying to think of anything else.

"Okay, it's gonna be a majority vote. I literally can't think of anything else. What do you think… you?"

At this point, the Chrome girl had had enough. She thought she'd be used to the idea when it was proposed to her. But after ten cars, that idea had lost all meaning.

"Will you just stop following me and leave me alone?!"

Her initial outburst caught Emma off-guard. 11 cars ago, she supported the idea. And yet, she acted as if Emma did something to make her mad. Emma didn't quite know how to go about it.

"Why? What did I do?"

"Come on! Don't act like you don't know! You're the one that asked to come along in the first place!"

Emma didn't see any sense for her to yell if she agreed to it to begin with.

"But I wasn't following you; we're just going the same direction."

The Chrome girl wouldn't hear any more of it. She'd had enough of that as is. It may have been sound the first time, but at this point, it's more of an excuse than a reason to her.

"That's the same thing! Ugh!"

The Chrome girl began to pace, mumbling to herself as she tried to think of a way to get some space. At the same time, Emma tried to calm her down and help her see reason.

"I cannot deal with this…"

"Well, what do you want me to do? Going backwards won't help."

The Chrome girl knew she was right about that. She personally didn't care about how she'd got on the train, but her going backwards certainly won't get her number down. And that means Emma would be stuck with her longer until then. It was then that she came up with a compromise of her own, taking a deep breath as she spoke.

"I know. I know. It's just that… well, you're better off with other passengers. That's why you're gonna stay here, at least for a day."

Emma widened her eyes in surprise as her slime companion squeaked in similar astonishment.

"What? Why?"

The Chrome girl tried to reassure her as she walked over to her.

"They're gonna pass through this car eventually, and when they do, they'll be the ones to help you out. They'll have way more experience at this, and they're gonna be most likely to help you get off the train."

Emma pondered her logic for a moment. It did make sense for the most part. But there was a drawback to consider: what if they didn't have any more of an idea how to get home than she did? For that matter, what if they're even worse than her? She tried to be as delicate as possible while she asked her.

"But why can't you help me?"

That only served to make it difficult for the Chrome girl as she made a sigh, thinking it should've been obvious, for she had explained it a long time ago.

"I told you when we first met, I'm not looking to make a commitment. And even if I was, I wouldn't know how to help you with your problems, especially when I've got my own to deal with."

That didn't sit well with Emma. All she really heard was that she didn't want anything to do with her. And although it is the case, Emma felt that she should at least make the effort to get to know her.

"How are your problems any more important than mine?"

"If you knew me, you'd understand."

"Then why don't you let me get to know you instead of just pushing me away? Why can't you even tell me your name?"

The Chrome girl became flustered just from hearing this. It wasn't her business to know about her name. Truth was, even she didn't know what her name was. But all the same, she found it invasive for her to tell her, especially when she didn't want to.

"I don't owe you my name!"

The Chrome girl quickly smacked Emma in the face, knocking her to the grass and making her slime companion roll off of her. The girl winced as she rubbed her face. The impact felt like she was hit by a steel bar. Emma looked up to the Chrome girl, the shock evident on both faces. The latter tried to cover up that shock with a tough demeanor.

"See what I mean? I can hurt you, you know. If you get out of here before the day passes, I'm gonna slug you again."

The Chrome girl didn't hesitate to open the door and walk out. As the door closed, Emma simply laid her back on the grass, though she was still surprised that she actually smacked her on the face (though the bigger surprise was how hard it hit her). After a short while, though, she looked to her companion before she inquired about the Chrome girl's baggage.

"Geez… what do you think her problem is?"

Her slime gerbil only made a squeak that let Emma know it didn't have a clue itself. In her time with learning her companion's language, Emma understood that much.

"Don't know, huh? Figures."

Emma laid her head back on the grass and looked up at the sky, contemplating on what could've driven her to do that for what seemed like no reason at all.

"Why is she like this? I swear, she's just like…"

In her attempt to solve that herself, Emma thought back to when they first met. The Chrome girl had told her that if she was put on the train, then it could be that she did something bad and probably deserved it. Yet, when she apologized, the Chrome girl was showing her how to get her number down. Of course, her demeanor didn't change, but she did try to go with Emma's idea of just going the same direction for a time. More than that, she reminded her of someone back home. Someone she'd most definitely relate to…

"...my mom."

The both of them didn't like help from others much, and yet, they both went out of their way to help her. That's when it hit her. Just because the Chrome girl didn't like help, that didn't mean she can't be helpful, although her slug to the face would tell her otherwise. Emma began to rub her face softly on where she was smacked. Maybe it came out harder than the Chrome girl must've meant it, but the way she reacted practically told Emma the story. Whatever happened to the Chrome girl, it must not have inclined her to trust just anyone with her name. She must be on the run. But the question stood: who could she be running from?

Could that be why she didn't want her in the same direction? Is that another mysterious way of helping her, or did she really want to get away from her? Either way, Emma knew she needed help getting off of the train. And as she saw it, the only one who can help is taking off without her. Beside that, she wanted to help the Chrome girl through her own problem, no matter how much she would hate it. Emma sat up and looked back to the door as her companion hopped onto her lap. She didn't know how to go about it, but one thing was clear: she needed to find her again.

A short moment after, the door opened before Emma walked out to the bridge. While she walked across it, she was engaging in a conversation with her companion. Although, with how much it could understand her, Emma supposed it was more a venting than a conversation.

"I know. She doesn't want me to follow her, but I have to. She's the only one who can help me."

Her companion made a squeak of doubt. It didn't like the Chrome girl very much since it pulled Emma from the pit. She didn't quite make it out, but it's safe to say that it wanted nothing to do with her as much as she appeared to want nothing to do with Emma.

"You don't have to be happy about it, but it won't change that."

Dead set on getting the help she needed, Emma opened the next door to find herself in a bizarre place. It was a cross between a two-story fancy mansion and a log cabin with a rustic yet fancy appeal that practically stood out like a beacon. The entrance she came from had a white and gold trim near the rim. On top of that, Emma noticed the background around her. It was a hedge maze and a trimmed green lawn with a brick path leading to the back of the mansion. She never saw such a building in all her life, so her attention was easily grabbed as Emma spoke under her breath.

"Whoa… that is the weirdest building I've ever seen."

Her slime gerbil squeaked in agreement. It didn't see anything of the sort in its home, or anything like it for that matter. But as much as they enjoyed such a sight, Emma didn't fail to notice that the Chrome girl left her mark on the hedge. There were several holes in the hedge that were practically shaped like her. If that didn't let her know she was here, Emma wouldn't know what would.

"Huh. That's her alright."

Her slime companion squeaked in astonishment over the Chrome girl's mark on the landscape as Emma proceeded to walk through them. She had to hand it to the Chrome girl. She did not like to waste time. On her way to the back of the mansion, though, Emma tried to think of a way to hide herself from her. If she's still around, Emma would need to make herself scarce. Even her slime gerbil knew that.

"She might still be inside. If she sees us, she'd be ticked."

Her gerbil squeaked in worry before Emma gently brushed it.

"Don't worry, buddy. I know how to play hide and seek."

With that, Emma cautiously opened the door and peeked through the corner. She had previously thought the outside was bizarre, but it paled in comparison to the inside. It had two floors, a spiral staircase that connected the two floors with a giant bear statue in the middle of it, hardwood floors with a few different rugs made out of various beasts (such as a bear, a lion, a tiger, and a gorilla), white walls decorated with pictures of what appeared to be its residents and their exploits in hunting, and hanging retired weapons on wooden plaques, along with several desk drawers that held picture frames and smaller repurposed animal skulls, along with a few hunting knives left out on it. The place might as well be big enough for her just to hide in plain sight, not that she'd chance it. Emma stepped inside and looked around for anywhere to hide in as she spoke softly so as not to attract attention.

"Okay. The first rule of the game is to hide. So, I'll need you to play along with it, okay?"

As an answer, the slime gerbil squeaked affirmatively before it began to move into Emma's shirt, making her gasp before she felt her companion nestling itself on her chest. A big blush came over her as she made a stifled noise before she looked down and spoke in a whisper-shout.

"That's not what I meant…!"

Before Emma could speak further, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, as well as an irritated voice.

"Ugh, where's the door in this place?"

Emma knew all too well. That could only mean she was around. And she was running out of time to hide.

"Crap!"

She looked around for anything good to hide in, if only to forestall her wrath. Unfortunately, there weren't many to go to in the time it'd take for the Chrome girl to get down the stairs. The only thing that seemed to work for her was the nearby giant statue of a bear by the stairs. She quickly ran to one of its legs as she tried to keep herself silent. Emma peeked out from the leg just as the Chrome girl reached the bottom of the stairs. Just like she figured, the girl was in a bad mood.

"I swear, this place is like a maze…"

But as it happened, the maze itself was short-lived. Right before her eyes was an exit door. This was a convenient turn of events for the both of them, especially for Emma. Of course, the real problem was how to convince her that she was her only chance of getting off the train. Emma truthfully didn't much like her company, but she had little choice other than to wait. And waiting was obviously not an option if she wanted to see her mother again.

Still, Emma kept her distance as she cautiously peeked her head out farther from the bear's leg to get a good look. What she saw there was the Chrome girl trying to open the door, but to no avail as she groaned in frustration.

"Aw, come on!"

Emma watched as the Chrome girl tried to force the doorknobs to turn and open, but with no effect whatsoever. She persisted a good while, but in the end, she ended up exhausting herself as she groaned in defeat. Having watched this, Emma found it to be a difficult case. How can she open the door if the Chrome girl couldn't? Emma spoke to her companion under her breath as it peeked out from her shirt.

"Well, this just got a little harder…"

Her companion squeaked up to her, making Emma shush her companion as it evidently did not appear to know how to be silent, or if it did, it must not have been told to be. Unfortunately, the Chrome girl heard the clamored shushing, turning around towards the giant bear statue. Emma was quick to hide behind the leg when she did. Emma was silently praying that she didn't notice her. But alas, that prayer was as unanswered as it was unsaid.

"Hey, I saw you back there!"

Emma made a groan of worry. She was hoping she'd have at least settled on a way to convince her to help her out before confronting her. But it didn't appear to be in the cards. Emma had to think of the next best thing to keep her from getting too angry. Truth be told, though, she didn't have much faith that this diplomacy would last as she revealed herself.

"Okay, before you say anything, just let me explain-"

Like Emma supposed, however, this attempt at diplomacy went out quicker than a candle.

"Explain what? That you decided to ignore my warning just to follow me around?! It's not my job to look after a helpless passenger like you!"

Being placed on the spot as quickly as she was, Emma tried to come up with an alternative in a way she could understand.

"No! I just decided to ignore your warning to… to get ahead of you."

The Chrome girl had a reason not to believe that. Even if that was the truth, she couldn't expect Emma to know what to do when she is confronted with a problem she may not know how to solve, and then they'd end up back where they started. The Chrome girl didn't hesitate to scoff at her flimsy excuse.

"Pfft! Like I'm supposed to believe that! You're just making up that excuse because you're helpless and you can't do things on your own! You can't even figure out what put you on this train in the first place!"

That was a hard blow for Emma to take. Those words were contradictory from what she had been doing before the train decided to whisk her away. To be told those things was not only wrong; it was an insult. And Emma wasn't going to take this sitting down. It was her turn to strike back. But in doing so, her outburst sent her companion popping out of her shirt, forcing it to cling onto it before it barely made a climb back up on her left shoulder.

"And what about you?! You don't even know me at all! If you did, you'd know that I'm not helpless, and that I'm very capable of more than you know!"

The Chrome girl was still unamused by her outburst as she crossed her arms while Emma spoke on.

"I can admit, I followed you because I was scared of being on my own, and I wanted someone to help me understand this whole thing, but now, I don't know if I should've bothered. I'm starting to think I should've stayed and found better company than a stubborn loner like you. And I may not know what my problem is yet, but at least I figured out yours."

The Chrome girl furrowed her eyes, as if daring her to speak her mind.

"Yeah? And what's my problem, then?"

Emma furrowed her eyes back at her as she gave her answer in a cold tone.

"Your problem is that you're a jackass."

The Chrome girl reeled back, gasping in surprise. However, that didn't last long before she became angrier. Before they knew it, the two of them began exchanging insults at each other with the Chrome girl dealing it out first. But while she did, the two of them were unaware of an old, middle-aged Englishman wearing a light green fancy robe, two dots for eyes, a scarlet ascot, black dress shoes/boots, and a red fez on his head watching their argument unfold.

"Well, your problem is that you are just an annoying talkative pest!"

"And you're a chrome turd!"

"What, you're that lonely to stalk me? Must be hard having no friends."

"At least I have a good imagination to come up with decent conversations! What's your excuse?!"

The Englishman picked up a phone before he began to speak into it as he watched them yell their heads off at each other.

"Gentleman. It's time we took care of our guests…"

In their argument, the Chrome girl shouted off one more insult before Emma made her counter retorsion. But as they made such exchanges, the poor slime gerbil was forced to burrow itself into Emma's pocket as it made a beeline towards it with a sad squeak.

"You're just such a baby!"

"Ugh, why are you so against helping me?!"

"I don't need anyone, especially not a friendless loser like you!"

"That shows what you know! I have someone back home that actually needs my help! But you wouldn't get that, because you don't have any friends, either, let alone a family that loves you!"

Emma had her last straws, and if the Chrome girl ever had one, that would be it.

"I don't need any of those things! I can take care of myself just fine without them!"

In that moment, Emma and the Chrome girl heard a group of Englishmen speak out from upstairs as they made their way down with a shout.

"Hello!"

Emma and the Chrome girl were utterly surprised to see this bizarre group, as well as to be cut off without warning. It was a group of seven who were dressed just like their leader, only some of them wore monocles as a difference. Two of them spoke out to the confused duo as Emma's companion popped out in curiosity.

"It's so nice to see you!"

"What brings you around our neck of the woods?"

Emma and the Chrome girl were both confused by the greetings, especially when they were hurtling insults at each other ten seconds ago. For them to act so friendly in spite of it seemed so strange to them, they didn't know how to react to this.

"Uh… hi?"

When the strange group of Englishmen got to the bottom of the stairs, they moved away to let the leader of the group through as he spoke out to them in somewhat of a delight.

"I thought I heard new voices, albeit with discontent. But you can ease yourselves. There's no need for hostilities."

Emma began to blush in embarrassment, feeling ashamed for what she'd said as she spoke meekly.

"Oh… sorry you heard all that."

The Englishman simply rubbed her head gently as he made a soft laugh.

"It's more than alright. Arguments like yours aren't uncommon."

The Chrome girl simply made an eye roll in Emma's direction as she spoke under her breath.

"I wonder why…"

Emma made a small glare at her before the Englishman got their attention once again, inquiring about them.

"Now then, allow me to introduce myself. I am Nicholas. And may I ask who you two might be?"

Emma found it to be pretty awkward. She shouldn't really be talking to strangers, or at least that's what her mother always told her. But being on this train, everyone's a stranger, especially the Chrome girl. But between her and them, those Englishmen were already proving to be more trustworthy than her. Still, she had to be cautious; helpful as they were, they seemed pretty creepy to be smiling all the time. Nonetheless, she proceeded with the introductions, trying to give out as little as possible, which wasn't hard with the Chrome girl as she had no clue about her herself. Then, her slime companion peeked out of her pocket before she picked him up and held him in her open palm.

"Okay, well… I'm Emma. I have no clue who she is. And this cute little guy is… well, I don't really know what his name is, but..."

Nicholas looked closely at the slime gerbil, becoming astonished at its appearance before he spoke in awe under his breath.

"That's a Viscoso Mutans…"

Emma didn't quite understand the latin language, so those words were lost on her as she asked him about the meaning.

"What?"

"A Viscous Shifter. Slime creatures that can alter their bodies depending on who or what they see."

To prove his point further, the slime gerbil altered its head so that it possessed its own fez in the similar likeness, much to Emma's impression as she spoke softly.

"Whoa…"

The Chrome girl witnessed the shift as well, and she had to admit it was impressive for her too. She began to smile, but she stopped herself as Emma had an idea.

"Hold on. Is your name… Visco?"

The slime gerbil jumped up and down with a positive squeak as Emma smiled at it with a gentle laugh.

"Looks like I know your name, now. It's nice to meet you, Visco."

Visco made a squeak in reply, no doubt saying that it was happy to meet her, too. The Chrome girl started to smile again, but she only made a small scoff before making an aloof comment.

"So, it can shift into other things. It's not that cool."

Then, she began to get an idea. As of yet, the door was locked. That being the case, she looked towards Emma's companion and began to wonder if it can help out with the door in some way.

"But, you know what would be cool? If it can turn into a key and open that door."

Emma held her companion close to her. After how she'd been treating her, she wasn't ready to trust her, if at all, with Visco. Although, she had to wonder something. If doors were meant to be opened, why keep them locked? How would passengers be expected to move on otherwise?

"Don't even think about it. But, now that I think about it… why was it locked?"

Nicholas let out a hearty laugh before he explained himself to Emma.

"Sorry about that. It was only locked because we were all asleep after the last meeting we had."

"Meeting? You mean you're all businessmen?"

"No. Truth be told, we actually have our own club here."

The Chrome girl took a look at their matching outfits and became convinced it was in the way that they dressed.

"Let me guess. Is it called, 'the English Club'?"

Nicholas simply shook his head before he answered the Chrome girl's snide question.

"Far from it, dear lady. Let's just say this club is more interested in rare… beings."

The Chrome girl caught onto his tone as he said it. Perhaps, he was taking in account that she didn't much like being labeled as anything apart from her being her own person. But aside from that, it sounded as though he had an eye for her; it was "rare" for reflections to be their own people, after all. She started to get unnerved as Emma asked Niocholas about the door.

"So, you'll unlock it for us?"

"Of course, in good time. But before you go, you simply must eat with us in the hall. It wouldn't do without a rest from your journey, not to mention some fuel for your bellies."

Nicholas gave out a hearty laugh as the Chrome girl began to get uneasy while Emma accepted the offer as Visco went up onto her shoulder.

"Well, sure. We could use a little something to eat."

The Chrome girl only took her hand as she began to speak with nervousness in her voice, something Emma never heard out of her before.

"Uh, yeah, but can you excuse us for a minute please?"

The Chrome girl began to get herself and Emma far away from the Englishmen as they backed up, much to the passenger's confusion.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Once they were far enough away, the Chrome girl turned over to Emma with a sour look as she scolded her. That only served to irritate Emma since their argument proved that the Chrome girl wanted nothing to do with helping her.

"I was about to ask you the same thing. You shouldn't be talking to those people."

"Oh, now you want to help me?"

"I'm serious. Something is seriously off about these guys."

"What? Just because they're nice to us, we should bail?"

The Chrome girl began to do a whisper-shout as she gestured to the Englishmen behind her.

"No. We should bail, because they're creepy!"

Emma looked behind her to see them as one of the Englishmen tried to breathe air onto his monocle, only for it to be in vain as no breath came out. But nonetheless, he rubbed it with his ascot before putting it back on. Apart from that, they were just watching in silence. Emma knew herself how bizarre they were when she tried to keep the introductions short, but this was far from it. In fact, it was even worse.

"Okay, you're not wrong there."

"Those guys are definitely up to something. We shouldn't stay here."

Emma only made a small glare at the Chrome girl before she spoke softly.

"Listen, just because they're creepy doesn't mean they're up to something. Besides, even if they were, we still don't know where the key for that door is. So, unless you happen to know where it is, we're staying for dinner."

The Chrome girl gave a slight grunt of frustration before she reluctantly agreed.

"Fine. But after that, we get that key, and when we do, you will never follow me again."

Emma nodded to the Chrome girl with a grunt.

"Fine by me."

She was starting to think she may not need her help after all. Like she said, she didn't know if she should've bothered to look for her. The duo seemed to be in agreement with those terms before they turned back to the Englishmen with Emma speaking to Nicholas.

"Sorry for that. My friend just got the jitters for a bit. But we're both ready to have dinner."

"Well, good. I assure you, it's nothing but the best."

A short while later, the Englishmen were showing Emma and the Chrome girl to the dinner table on the first floor. It had fancy big windows draped in fancy green curtains, a long wooden table with a few wooden chairs with fancy porcelain plates, metal utensils, and neatly folded napkins placed on top. Along with that, there was also a big door with a lock on the wall in front of the table, where Nicholas sat himself down. Emma was impressed with the layout of the design as Nicholas spoke to her.

"I hope you ladies are hungry. Because we happen to have the best chef in the lodge."

The Chrome girl found it to be plausible, especially when they never left this car to begin with. And beside that point, she doesn't really have the need to eat anything like Emma did. Still, if they're gonna get that key, she'd have to play along.

"Well… I can't say I'm hungry, but I'd like to be surprised."

Nicholas sat down on the table just as the waiter arrived with a silver platter and a lid in the shape of a bell handy before he addressed the Chrome girl's request.

"I think that can be arranged. Sirloin, surprise our chromatic friend."

"Understood, sir."

The waiter walked over to the Chrome girl before placing said platter in front of her and spoke before opening the lid.

"I think this meal is more to your liking."

The waiter opened the lid to show a steel and chromatic apple, making the Chrome girl stare into it to see her reflection. But when she did, she jumped back with an exclamation of surprise, making Emma and Visco look at her with a gasp before the Chrome girl began to pant her breath as Nicholas looked on with a smirk on his face as he began to laugh, much to the Chrome girl's irritation as she grumbled before he explained.

"What's the matter? I thought you liked to be surprised!"

Nicholas engaged in another hearty laugh before the Chrome girl mumbled as Emma became confused, looking at the platinum apple the waiter gave to her before taking the apple and putting it under her chair.

"Oh, hardy-hardy-har…"

As Emma looked at the apple under the chair, she began to wonder. How could something like that scare the Chrome girl? It made no sense to her, especially when she's always ready to start a fight, and she had the slap to prove it. Emma then looked to the other Englishmen and watched as they excused themselves from the table, leaving the room almost altogether. She then looked over to the waiter as she spoke up.

"Uh… Sirloin, was it? Would it be alright if I had a Cheeseburger with just meat and cheese?"

"At your service."

The waiter walked over to Emma before he put the lid back on the silver platter and set it down in front of her before opening it to reveal exactly what she ordered. And it was a fresh batch at that. Emma couldn't believe her eyes nor her nose as she picked it up and held it in her hands before she spoke softly.

"It looks… so good."

Emma then took a bite and became enamored with the taste as she made a short moan from the sweet sensation of it in her tongue before she swallowed it and gave her compliments to the chef.

"Now, THIS is good!"

Nicholas smiled as Emma chewed her food before he spoke to the waiter.

"Sirloin, you've done it again."

Sirloin gave him a gentle bow before he replied.

"Service is its own reward."

Emma then took notice of all the trophies on the wall adjacent to her. They consisted of a wolf, a tiger, a bear, and even a deer. She assumed it was part of the architecture, though she can't get over how they all seemed to stare at her as she looked over to Nicholas and spoke up to him.

"Those are some, uh... nice decorations up there, Nick."

Nicholas placed his fingers together as he showed his gratitude to Emma.

"Well, I'm glad you've noticed. Although, they're not nearly as… impressive as the others."

If the Chrome girl wasn't already suspicious, that might have set off the red flag for her. Somehow, she had a feeling the other trophies were something she didn't want to see.

"Others? What exactly are the 'other' trophies like?"

Nicholas looked over to the Chrome girl before he bore a dark grin on his face.

"You'd be surprised."

In that moment, the Englishmen that left came back to the dining room, but they weren't the same. They were wearing yellow dirty hunter gear, bodysuits with many pockets, black tight belts with brass belt buckles, high black hunting boots, bullet straps on their chests, knife sheaves on their pant thighs, big green backpacks holding their weapons, protective metal chest plates on their hunter shirts, and hard Safari hats. Emma became nervous about their situation as she looked over to Nicholas.

"Uh, why are they wearing safari outfits?"

Nicholas stood up from his seat before walking over to the big locked door behind him as he got out a key from his pocket and answered Emma.

"Believe it or not, we're not just any club."

Nicholas began to place the key inside the lock before he looked back to Emma and the Chrome girl with a dark glare.

"We're hunters."

Once the doors opened, both Emma and the Chrome girl were utterly mortified by the sight. Inside the room were countless displays of trophies that held not only the heads of their victims, ranging from the gorillas' to the deers', but it also held the most terrifying: the arms of passengers with high numbers that illuminated the room with their green glow. Many of those arms were pale and held metal claws in comparison to a few who held no such claws. Emma gave out a gasp of shock and terror as she stared at such a gruesome image while Visco quickly hid behind Emma's head from it. Even the Chrome girl was terrified by this sight as Nicholas spoke again to the group.

"You see, the only thing rarer than the Denizens on this train are passengers with numbers as high as these. Apart from this, we're doing this train… a service."

The Chrome girl began to see his point. People with high numbers are regularly bad people, at least in her experience. However, that didn't make her any less scared of this scene as she inquired about how they're doing the train a "service".

"W-What do you mean?"

Nicholas walked into the room before he answered her question while stopping at one of the trophies with a metal claw on its hand.

"A lot of people that come by here tell… fascinating stories. For instance, a man who never appreciated his family."

Nicholas then walked over to another trophy, showing a more feminine arm with a relatively high number along the wrist.

"A teenager who sought rebellion from her parents..."

And, most shocking of all, Nicholas stood by a trophy that looked just like the Chrome girl's as he took the glass dome off of it and picked it up as he spoke coldly.

"A sliver… who dreamed that he could ever be anything more…"

Nicholas then tossed the arm onto the table, making it crash with a heavy thud as the Chrome girl widened her eyes in terror as Emma looked on in horror before Nicholas spoke again.

"I heard a lot of things when you were talking. And from what I heard, it could be the best one yet. It'll be interesting to hear how it ends."

The Chrome girl was sweating up a storm from Nicholas' show of trophies. She had a feeling they were hiding something, and she was right. She looked to Emma, seeing that she was just as terrified as her. The two of them then looked to Nicholas before the Chrome girl spoke up.

"Okay, uh… it's been nice, but we should really get going."

Nicholas raised his eyebrow with a leering smile as he inquired to the Chrome girl.

"Oh, you're not leaving so soon?"

"Yeah, sorry. But we just don't wanna take advantage of your hospitality. Right, Emma?"

Emma nodded nervously before she added to the Chrome girl's statement.

"Yep. Sorry we can't stay for dessert."

Despite their insistence, Nicholas tried to dissuade them from leaving.

"Oh, no. It's quite alright. As a matter of fact, we were just about to give you two a head start."

Emma started to get nervous to ask as she stammered, trying to work up the nerve.

"Uh… a head start for what?"

While Nicholas answered, several of the Englishmen loaded up their rifles and removed their white teeth, exposing sharp, pointy teeth underneath the apparent dentures. These traits sent shivers into Emma and made the Chrome girl anxious.

"For the hunt. And it starts… ten seconds from now. One..."

In no time at all, the two of them ran out of the dining hall as Nicholas counted down.

"Two…"

The girls went up to the second floor in their panic. They didn't have much time left before the Hunters went after them. As they ran, the Chrome girl reminded Emma about her earlier point.

"I told you they were hiding something!"

Emma didn't think that was worth repeating in a time like this.

"You don't have to rub it in!"

When they got up to the second floor, Emma and the Chrome girl looked around for anywhere to hide in, choosing one of the two rooms presented to them. One of the rooms appeared to be a fancy white marble bathroom with a big mirror, a seashell sink, a shower with a fur curtain, and a toilet while another was a study area. It had a big writing desk, a few hunting trophies on the wall, a big wooden closet, a wooden coat rack in a corner of the room, a chair made out of hunting trophies, and a weapons rack full of guns and hunting equipment near the closest. In their panic, and with the waning time on their hands not making the situation any better, the Chrome girl was quick to head to the bathroom where Emma followed after her. But when she tried to go in after the Chrome girl, she'd barely made it through before she closed the door and locked it. Emma began to pant her breath quickly as the Chrome girl looked at her in irritation before she shouted.

"Hey! What did I say about following me?!"

"Well, I can't hide in that other room! That's where those Hunters would look first!"

The Chrome girl was about to kick her out, but Nicholas' voice spoke outside as he shouted.

"Split up and fan out, gentlemen! The hunt begins now!"

The Chrome girl only made an annoyed grunt. It's too late to kick her out now, unless she wanted the Hunters to find her, too. For now, the two had to share the room.

"Great. Now, we're gonna have to share this bathroom."

Once the Chrome girl finished saying this out loud, she began to blush a dark shade of grey on her cheeks in embarrassment while Emma looked around in the bathroom, becoming surprised by how roomy it was. Then again, with about eight Englishmen under the same roof, they might as well have the room. Of course, she hadn't forgotten about what they were capable of.

"Well, all things considered, at least the door's locked. Maybe it'll buy us some time to think of a plan."

Emma looked back at the Chrome girl, taking notice of her embarrassed look before she gently shook her.

"Uh, are you okay?"

Hearing her voice, the Chrome girl shook her head out of her momentary stupor before she spoke up.

"Huh? What was that?"

With how loud her voice was, Emma shushed her gently before she repeated her earlier statement.

"I said, the door's locked. Maybe we can come up with a plan until then."

The Chrome girl's blush grew a few shades darker before she acknowledged this and spoke softly.

"Oh! Oh, sure. Yeah."

With that, Emma took a sigh before she looked to Visco, who was sitting on her shoulder after enduring the run to the second floor by clinging to her hood.

"Okay, Visco. Got any ideas?"

Visco squeaked his answer as he pointed at the window by the shower, making Emma and the Chrome girl look towards it. It did appear small, but it was big enough for any person to fit. However, the possibility to do that seemed plausible by itself.

"Hmm… good start, but what if one of us gets stuck? One of us would have to push the other out."

While Emma contemplated this, the Chrome girl only made a sigh of discontent with her situation as she looked at the mirror to her side. But when she did, she made yet another gasp of horror before she let out a panicked yell and made no hesitation to smash the mirror, making Emma and Visco look over to her in surprise and worry. Soon enough, one of the Englishmen spoke out from outside the door.

"What was that?"

Emma looked over to the Chrome girl with a livid look, fearing she may have given away their position as she whisper-shouted.

"What did you do that for?!"

The Chrome girl looked back at Emma with a look of agitation. The passenger may not have a clue about why she was afraid of mirrors, but the sliver knew it was for good reason. And that's good enough for her as she whisper-shouted back at Emma.

"I don't need to explain anything to you!"

"Well, now they know we're here!"

Just then, the door's handle began to jiggle. Emma immediately suspected the worst as she held her hand over her mouth and looked for a place to lay low quickly with Visco squeaking worriedly as the Hunter spoke from outside the door.

"Aha! Thought you could hide from us in there, eh? Well, you thought wrong!"

The Hunter began to bang on the door with his rifle, making Emma nervous as her breathing became uneasy. Any moment now, the two of them would end up as trophies. Just the thought alone of her arm being used as such began to terrify her.

"Oh, no…! We're dead…!"

However, the Chrome girl isn't willing to let it end like that. She looked back to the window before getting an idea of her own.

"Not yet, we aren't. I got a plan."

"What? But you just-"

"I know. But you got to trust me."

Emma would've refused to do it immediately, but the louder banging on the door changed her mind on that quickly.

"Okay. What do we do?"

A moment later, the Hunter broke the door open, sending splinters of wood to the floor as he held his rifle at the ready while speaking ominously.

"I'm gonna get you, you know. You can't hide forever, ladies."

The hunter crept inside the bathroom as he looked around. Thus far, neither of his prey was yet to be seen. But as he looked around, he saw pieces of broken glass on the bathroom counter. He suspected someone might still be inside the room. And he knelt down to the bathroom drawers underneath the counter where he began to reach his hand for the handle as he spoke to himself.

"No use trying to hide down there. I got you now."

Just as the hunter was about to hold onto the knob, however, he looked up and saw that the shower window was open. This made him rethink his decision as he came to a different conclusion.

"Except… maybe you aren't hiding under there. Maybe you broke that glass and locked that door just to… to distract me!"

The Hunter growled in his frustration before he walked out of the bathroom in a huff as he spoke to himself.

"Real clever, aren't you?"

Not too long after he left the bathroom however, the Chrome girl slowly opened the bathroom drawer to see that no one else was inside before the stressed Emma asked her softly about the situation.

"Is he still here…?"

The Chrome girl closed the door before looking back to Emma. The two of them hid within the counter underneath the sinks as a last-ditch effort to hide themselves. Of course, if any hunter were to find them, she'd knock them out cold as a backup. Fortunately, it didn't appear to be necessary.

"No. He must've left the room. Probably to check outside."

Despite the news, Emma's breathing became more ragged and afraid. She had no clue how to handle this at all. Being hunted like this wasn't part of the plan to get back to her mother. What kind of train would put her through this, let alone take her away at all? Emma struggled to find the answer to that as the Chrome girl became confused by her behavior.

"Uh… you doing okay?"

Emma wanted to shout this at her, but she kept her volume to a level where she's quiet enough not to give herself away.

"Do I look okay?! I'm being hunted!"

The Chrome girl didn't see her quiet shout as necessary, seeing as she is in the same boat.

"Yeah? Well, I'm being hunted, too. You saw that arm on the table, too."

"At least you have a better chance of getting out of here!"

This made the Chrome girl widen her eyes in curiosity. The odds weren't necessarily better for her if the Hunters were capable of using people like her as trophies. Yet, Emma seemed convinced that she had a better chance compared to her. While it may be true, she can't help but wonder what made her realize that.

"What do you mean?"

"Youcan survive this kind of thing, but I can't. If I go out there, I'm as good as dead. But you, you'd probably take out most of them by the time you go down."

The Chrome girl pondered Emma's opinion. As it happened, that description is pretty accurate on her part.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Visco nodded in agreement as it made an affirmative squeak. Although, Emma was still under a great deal of stress.

"Anyway, I don't know the first thing about what to do in situations like this. That's why I've been following you. I know you said that I'm better off with other passengers, but you're literally the only chance I have of getting back home. At least, back to my mom."

The Chrome girl's face began to soften as Emma continued to rant to her. And while she did, Emma was getting on the verge of crying over what now seems like an impossibility.

"But apparently, everyone thinks it's wrong for me to help her! Even this stupid train!"

Emma slammed on the wall to her left in frustration, making Visco squeak in alarm before the Chrome girl tried to calm her down before she inadvertently gave them away.

"Hey, calm down. You're gonna give us away."

Despite the situation, Emma didn't seem to care as she began to shed tears from her eyes. With how hopeless things appeared for her, she was convinced that 'd already lost any hope of getting back home.

"What does that matter? They're gonna find us anyway. I'll just end up dying on this train alone. Nobody is going to care that I'm even gone. The only one who ever will is taken away from me… And now… I'll never see her again."

Emma began to sob to herself into her knees as she curled herself up into a ball. The Chrome girl's face softened at this miserable sight while Visco squeaked in pity for Emma as it curled up by her shoulder near her neck. The longer she looked at Emma, the more horrible she felt for the way she'd treated her up until this point. Since coming to understand how the train worked, the Chrome girl always believed that any passenger who ended up on the train ended up there because they didn't care about anyone but themselves. And yet, Emma's reason for being on this train was in complete contrast to what she initially thought. Perhaps it was out of pity or guilt, but either way, she wanted to make it up to Emma as she placed her hand on her shoulder and tried to encourage her. She wanted to apologize, but with the hunters out and about, she didn't know if there was any time left, even if Emma didn't bang on the wall.

"Listen. Emma, was it? I know you must be super scared right now, but you're not going to die."

Emma hardly found her word convincing as she looked up to her with tears staining her face.

"Really? How do you know that?"

The Chrome girl placed her other hand on her other shoulder beside Visco as she answered with a determined face.

"Because I won't let you. We're gonna find that key and get out of this death trap of a car."

Emma's face softened from hearing her words before she wiped her tears away with a sniffle. Those were the first words out of her that ever made her feel safe. As much as she wanted to believe them, though, she especially knew that actions spoke louder than words. Nonetheless, she hoped the Chrome girl had a plan to back it up.

"But… how are we gonna pull that off?"

"You said yourself that I'd take most of them down with me by myself. And for obvious reasons, you can't go out there by yourself. At this point, neither of us can."

Emma then turned over to Visco, wondering how he would fare if he were to leave.

"What about Visco?"

"Well, it's 50/50, but if the Hunters don't get him, he'd still be sad about losing you."

Visco held his head down as he made a sad squeak, which Emma took notice of as she saw her point before the Chrome girl continued to explain, though she was hesitant to do so completely.

"You're right about that."

"Anyway, the three of us can't do this alone. But maybe if we, you know…"

As it happened, Emma saw where she was going, surprised as she was for her to even consider it. A few moments ago, The Chrome girl didn't seem to like that idea, but it was the only option they haven't tried yet.

"Did it together?"

"Uh, yeah! Yeah. If we did that, then maybe we'll all get out of this alive. And maybe you could see your mom again, or whatever."

Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not too long before the Hunters found them, she was literally telling Emma that she can't do anything by herself. Yet, here she is lending a hand. Of course, she knew that the partnership wouldn't last long. Once they get out of this, they'll split. But at least she'd be able to survive this catastrophe.

"Okay, but how are we gonna make it work?"

The Chrome girl simply gave her a determined smile, knowing that if it's played right, they'll all be able to get out alive.

Later, another hunter was looking in the house after coming back inside from the backyard. Frankly, the Chrome girl's earlier trail made it all the more easier to search, although much to his disappointment, he couldn't find her there. And it was getting on his nerves. But if they had planned this subterfuge, making it a straight line would've proved to be a setback on their part.

"Those ladies are smart, I'll give them that. But they're not that smart. That's barely any time at all to hide somewhere new."

As the Hunter looked around on the first floor, Emma, the Chrome Girl, and Visco cautiously peeked out of the corner of the safety bars that kept them from falling out of the second floor as he spoke to himself.

"And they couldn't have found the key already; they can't find squat around here. At least, not in time."

As the Hunter looked around, Emma looked to the Chrome girl.

"You think he might know where it is?"

"Unless he's talking gibberish, yeah. You guys know the plan, right?"

Emma and Visco nodded to her in confirmation. But the passenger still had to wonder if she had it in herself to complete the task that's required of her.

"But are you sure I can do this?"

"Well, you kinda have to."

Emma made a small frown as she gave out her doubts.

"I know that. It's just… what if I can't?"

The Chrome girl didn't hesitate to remind Emma of what she'd told her earlier in the argument.

"Emma, you told me yourself that you're capable of more than I know. This is your chance to prove that. You're not gonna turn your back on that, are you?"

Emma looked back down at the Hunter from a safe distance as he began to look in the dining room as he spoke with a dark look.

"It wouldn't surprise me if they're hiding with the trophies. They'd just be making it too easy for me."

Emma's face then turned into a steel glare at the Hunter. She saw how their trophies ended up. She could only imagine how many were in her position before they were killed. Emma saw no reason to forgive the Hunters for what they did; it was no less than when the Social Workers took away her mother. And she wasn't going to let that go unpunished as she looked back at the Chrome girl, maintaining that steel glare as she answered.

"No. I'm not."

"Good. Let's do this."

In the dining room, the Hunter began looking around in the lounge area, surrounded by countless glowing green lights in the room. The atmosphere in the room made it hard for him to be able to focus, but the room itself didn't offer much room for them to hide long enough and run away when it's clear, especially not when he has his rifle handy. Still, he tipped his safari down slightly in front to shield his eyes from the glare as he spoke out to the prey he suspected was hiding in the room.

"I'd just as soon give up, if I were you, loves. You can only hide for so long before you get tired."

Little did he know that the Chrome girl was walking through the door to the dining room, taking notice of the chrome-like apple underneath her initial seat before she picked it up and put it in her jacket pocket as he continued to talk down to her.

"But even then, you'll never be safe out there. You'll slip up. And when you do, no one is going to come to your rescue…"

The Chrome girl fixed her glare back at the Hunter as she spoke out to him.

"Wanna bet?"

The Hunter turned around to notice the Chrome girl before aiming his rifle right at her and fired at the Chrome girl with a yell, forcing her to dodge and run out the door before the Hunter gave chase, trying to get a good shot in at her. She ran all about the lodge as the Hunter shouted at her.

"You can't run forever!"

The truth was, she wasn't planning to. As the Hunter was giving chase, Emma was by the bear statue's leg as she looked at the table near the backyard door where she noticed the hunting knives. She scurried over to that table where she looked over the selection of knives. Of all the knives she found that ranged from long to small, Emma picked up the knife with a black and red handle that had a safety guard inside it, as well as a detachable scabbard with which it can be placed inside. Emma took the guard off and looked at the blade, examining her reflection before she looked back to the Chrome girl and the Hunter.

The latter of the two had the Chrome girl cornered by the backyard door, and he was ready to make his shot.

"You had your chance. Now, you're going to end up as a fine trophy for our lounge area. Maybe even our study."

Emma held onto the knife as she drew closer to the Hunter. Fixing her glare at him, the Hunter in Emma's eyes did a short flash of one of the people who took her mother away. She could picture his smug, leering, and proud face in almost perfect detail.

Emma was stopped from going over to her mother as she shouted, desperately trying to get to her as the one who held her back had a sympathetic look while the one who looked on had a more pragmatic look.

"Let me go! You can't do this!"

"Trust us. It's for your own good."

"No! You're not taking her! I'm the only one who understands her! You take that away, she won't stand a chance!"

The partner who looked on only looked towards Emma with a dispassionate face as he peered over to her, the top part of his face hidden in shadows by his fedora as he spoke.

"Don't make this any harder than it needs to be."

"You don't know what you're doing! She needs me!"

The figure only took out his toothpick before using it to point to the house behind her, showing the smoke was still coming out of the house as he condescended to her, his face still hidden by the fedora.

"Is that really what she needs? Because it's clear to me that you need her a lot more than she ever needed you."

Emma clenched hard on the knife's handle as those words echoed in her mind. She meant every word of what she'd said to the Chrome girl. She'd never back out of proving her worth ever again…

"And your friend? She'd be easy pickings for the rest of us."

Just then, Emma leapt at the Hunter with a yell and made a quick stab on the back of his head, sending the Hunter tumbling to the floor while dropping the rifle. With the Hunter knocked down to the floor, the Chrome girl looked on in surprise as Emma pulled her knife out with a yell. Angry as she was, Emma was shocked from what she'd done to the Hunter, even more so with what was coming out of the wound she gave him: stuffing. She couldn't help but cover her mouth in shock as she spoke to herself in a frightened whisper.

"Oh, my gosh! I just killed him!"

However, the groan that came from his mouth said otherwise as the wound then started to repair itself, stitching back into place as if it never happened before the Chrome girl flipped him over and saw that he was unconscious prior to correcting her.

"More like you just knocked him out."

The Chrome girl looked back at Emma in surprise, making her smile nervously. She didn't think the passenger had that in her. But thanks to that, she'd at least think twice before pushing her buttons again. But as much as she wanted to ask her about that, she knew it'd only be a matter of time before the rest of the Hunters came back in the house.

"We'll talk about that later. Let's tie him up."

Later, Visco was binding the unconscious Hunter to the chair in the study area, using its elastic body while Emma and the Chrome girl were by the table. The latter of the two was still surprised by her initiative. But so far, it did help out with her plan. For the time being, she thought it best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, at least, not until after they escaped.

"Okay, now that we've got him captured, we just need to interrogate him and make him tell us where the key is."

Emma saw a good merit to this plan. There isn't much the Hunter could do with Visco tying him up. And the rifle was placed farther away from him on the table where he can't reach it. Although, they knew the risk of what would happen if he somehow got free.

"That'll work. But what about the bullets? Won't he shoot us if he gets free?"

"Good point. We should probably empty that thing."

With that, the Chrome girl took the Hunter's rifle and broke it in half over her knee, sending the bullets falling to the floor in the process before chucking it to the floor. Emma found her method a bit crude, but it was effective in securing their safety.

"That'll work. When do you think he'll wake up, though?"

In that moment, the Hunter began to stir awake with a moan. Emma and the Chrome girl looked over to him while the latter answered her.

"I think right about now."

The Hunter slowly opened his eyes before seeing his prey in front of them. They both held vicious glares towards the Hunter as he glared back at them.

"Oh, there you two are! You're going to regret staying around for this long. Because I'm going to rip you a new one!"

The Hunter tried to move towards them, but he couldn't. Visco was keeping him stuck to the chair. Despite this, the Hunter tried to move his arms and legs, but the slime gerbil kept them from moving any more than an inch. While the Hunter was having difficulty, Emma and the Chrome girl walked up to him before they spoke up to him.

"Actually, you won't be ripping anything."

"We heard you talk about the key. And you're going to tell us where it is, now."

The Hunter was unfazed by the Chrome girl's threatening tone as he narrowed his eyes.

"Or what?"

Emma took her turn to speak up as she brandished her hunting knife.

"Or I'm going to rip you a new one."

Emma then stepped up beside the Chrome girl and held out her hunting knife near the Hunter's neck.

"Not so fun being the prey, is it?"

The Hunter's face held no fear despite Emma's threat as he spoke condescendingly to her.

"Even if I told you where it is, it won't do you any good. We outnumber you 8 to 2."

Emma's glare only got worse as she spoke in an angry tone.

"And that's supposed to make you feel proud? Preying on innocent people and using them as your trophies?! You don't have any honor at all!"

The Chrome girl was beginning to get more and more surprised by Emma. Perhaps she may have been hasty to judge her so quickly.

"There is no honor out here, love. It's survival of the fittest. That's always been the rule."

Those words pushed Emma's buttons quicker than anything else. Ever since her father was gone, she'd always been by herself. Nobody bothered to help her or her mother. At all. And the one time they offered "help", she gets taken away and she has no real family left. She never liked Survival of the Fittest before, but she refused to let anyone speak of it ever again. Never again...

"Your Survival of the Fittest can go to hell! Or whatever is below this crazy train, but you know what I mean!"

Emma made a vicious stab at the Hunter's chest, making him gasp in shock. And it especially made the Chrome girl just as shook. Emma killing off the Hunter wasn't part of the plan, or at least it wouldn't be before he told them where the key was.

"Hey! We needed him!"

Emma only glared at the Hunter with daggers in her eyes, not even bothering to look away as she spoke back to her.

"He's not dead. Not yet."

Emma wasn't wrong. She remembered that they can self-repair themselves, for some bizarre reason. But that didn't mean she can't use that to torture the Hunter. That alone gave her a thrill of retribution for her and her mother being treated like prey back home. In a way, this was her chance to make someone else feel that pain. And she didn't hesitate to drag the knife down across the chest slowly, making the Hunter more and more anxious as the wound opened up before slowly closing itself. She caught onto his look of fear quickly and began to realize something. She must be getting closer to his weak spot.

Emma didn't know what would happen if she somehow managed to find it, but if it's scaring him that much, she thought, maybe she can use that to get the key. Emma continued to scowl at the Hunter as she spoke condescendingly to him.

"You said I was easy pickings before, didn't you? Do I look like easy pickings to you?!"

Emma dragged her weapon down harder, causing more stuffing to puff out of the wound while terrifying the Hunter as the Chrome girl tried to convince her to stop this personal vendetta. Frankly, she was starting to regret having said all those things about her.

"Emma, stop! He's had enough!"

Emma glared back at the Chrome girl as she retorted back with venom in her voice.

"It'll be enough when he tells us where that key is!"

Emma continued to drag the knife down, forcing the Hunter to stare her in the eyes as Visco began to squeak in worry while she once again talked down to him with anger.

"You better tell us, or you'll feel this pain for whatever's left of your life!"

The Hunter made no sound other than a quickening breath of fear. But it was only when the dagger was stopped by something just below it that he cracked like an egg, yelling out in a panic as Emma backed away.

"Enough! Please! I surrender! I'll tell you where the key is! Just stop this madness!"

Emma only continued to glare at him as she pressed the question on him again.

"Then tell us where it is."

The Hunter's finger was quivering, pointing over to the desk where the Chrome girl was standing.

"It's over there. In one of the desk drawers."

Emma glared back at him before quickly removing the hunting knife, making the Hunter wince as his wound closed itself while she spoke in a dark tone as she walked away.

"There. Was that so hard?"

Emma then stamped the hunting knife onto the desk and began to rummage through its drawers while the Chrome girl looked on in surprise. She found it hard to believe it was the same girl who was following her, the same girl who was convinced that nobody ever cared about her or her mother in the real world. Either she was really dangerous to begin with, or she's a fast learner. Either way, she did not want to imagine what she must've gone through other than what she was told to make her like this. Still, she did not quite support what Emma did to find the key. Even she wouldn't wish that on her worst enemies. The Chrome girl put up a look of disapproval as she inquired to her the question on her mind at that very moment.

"Was it really necessary for you to do that?"

Emma didn't bother looking towards the Chrome girl as she answered. She was still focused on finding the key so the two of them could leave.

"What if it wasn't? You saw what they did to the others here. He deserved it."

The Chrome girl looked back at the Hunter who once had her cornered before looking back at Emma.

"Okay, you're not wrong there. But there was no reason for you to stoop to that level."

At that point, Emma found a small golden key before showing it to the Chrome girl to disprove her point.

"Well, it just got us this key, didn't it?"

Emma then began to exit the study area before the Chrome girl spoke out to her again.

"So what if it did?! There's absolutely no excuse to treat anyone like this at all!"

Emma turned around swiftly back at her with an angry look.

"Oh, yeah?! Why don't you tell that to the Hunters?! To the people who took my mom away from me?!"

Emma began to shed tears of rage and sorrow as she continued to shout at the Chrome girl while Visco and the trapped Hunter looked on with the latter beginning to show a look of realization in his eyes.

"They never believed in anything I had to say! They just think I'm a worthless kid, that I can't take care of her, let alone myself!"

As the Hunter spoke under his breath in astonishment, Emma walked over to the Chrome girl and went up in her face as she shouted further.

"Poor child…"

"And because of that, I lost my mother, the only family I've loved! I promised I'd be there for her, but I can't even keep that anymore! But you wouldn't understand that, because you don't have a family, you don't have friends, and you'll never find anyone who'd ever love you!"

That made the Chrome girl widen her eyes in shock as Visco made a gasping squeak while the Hunter had his own gasp. After a moment, Emma held the key out in front of the Chrome girl as she spoke out to her with a glare.

"So just take it and get out of here. I can survive just fine without you."

The Chrome girl began to shed tears in her eyes over what Emma had just said to her. But the truth was, she didn't know her any more than she knew Emma. She still remembered what someone told her when she'd just found her path ashis voice echoed in her mind.

"At least promise me one thing. Promise me that you'd never hurt anyone in any way for your own gain. Got that?"

After a moment of sadness, it was her turn to be angry as she pushed her to the ground before forcefully taking the key away and speaking coldly.

"Fine. You can do what you want. But I'm keeping my promise to my friends. At least they never tortured people just because they deserved it…"

The Chrome girl then walked out of the study area with tears in her eyes before closing the door and walking down the stairs. Emma simply glared to the direction she walked out of for a moment before her face softened while Visco squeaked at her softly, feeling sad for how things went between her and the Chrome girl. She didn't know she had a friend; she just assumed she never had one because of how she acted around her. She had to wonder… did she lose someone she cared about, too? Sadly, it seemed that she'll never know.

As the Chrome girl walked down the stairs, she couldn't get over what Emma had said to her. While it was true that she didn't have family or friends to start out with since getting her own life, for her to actually say it hurt her most of all, though she can't entirely blame her. She knew as much about Emma as she knew about her. The Chrome girl didn't have much from Emma to know about. That is, apart from what she'd told her in the bathroom.

"Apparently, everyone thinks it's wrong for me to help her! Even this stupid train!"

The Chrome girl could understand why it thought she was in the wrong after how she acted. She knew that revenge is a sucker's game. It must've stopped her from trying to kill the people who took her away. It wouldn't have solved anything; Emma had to have known that. And revenge alone wouldn't have helped her mother in any capacity whatsoever. Then, as she was about to put the key in the lock, the Chrome girl remembered how sad Emma was. And she began to realize something… maybe she was already aware of it from the beginning.

"I'll just end up dying on this train alone. Nobody is going to care that I'm even gone. The only one who ever will is taken away from me… And now… I'll never see her again."

She was scared and afraid of that outcome, just as much as she was scared of never being herself. She wanted to be more than just the reflection of her prime. She wanted her own life, and she didn't exactly go about it the right way, either. Maybe the two of them were more alike than she thought. Except she didn't have a friend (apart from Visco) who would try to keep her on the right path; she was alone.

The Chrome girl looked back up to the stairs towards the study area where she walked away from Emma. Somehow, she just couldn't bear the idea of letting her go on to become worse than she already is. She turned away from the door and put the key in her pocket before she tried to get to the study area. She took a few steps closer to the stairs, but just when she was about to step onto them, her mouth was suddenly covered by a white cloth over her mouth before she tried to shout through it, but only her muffled yells came through as she slowly began to lose consciousness as Nicholas spoke softly.

"Shh… I can't let you leave just yet. That would make me a poor host."

In that moment, the other Hunters went inside the house through the front door, stopping just by Nicholas' side to see the Chrome girl unconscious by his feet as one of the Hunters inquired of him.

"Is she dead?"

"No. I sedated her."

One of the Hunters pointed his rifle at the Chrome girl, eager to make the kill.

"Maybe we should stuff her while we still can…"

Nicholas noticed the rifle and kicked it away with a glare as he spoke with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Don't you dare. Killing them in their sleep is not our way; you all know this. Otherwise, we're no better than those who attacked us."

"Well, what are we gonna do about her, then?"

Nicholas looked up towards the study area. He saw that the door was closed. And beyond that indication, he saw the Chrome girl's eyes were fixed on it before he ambushed her. Even if he stormed inside to get to her, Emma would still be surrounded by countless other rifles inside to even the odds. And although there were eight of them over the meager two, he did not like to underestimate his opponents. Especially when he noticed that one of them was missing...

"That'll depend. Where's Charlemagne?"

"No sign of him, gov'nor."

Nicholas looked up towards the study area and began to get a sneaking suspicion. The quarry must've gotten to him. Nicholas tensed his fist in anger before he turned to one of the Hunters and gave him a request.

"You, bring a chair over here and tie our quarry up."

"I hear you, guv. But why?"

Nicholas only glared at the study area as he answered.

"We have a trade to make."

Meanwhile, Emma sat by the desk, having locked the study room door, and decided to wait out the rest of the day while trying to think of how to survive against the Hunters until then. She managed to capture and torture one of them; who's to say she can't just capture the rest and be done with it for the rest of that day before she moves on, she thought. But the Hunter seemed to know what she was already thinking as he spoke out to her.

"You're as ruthless as you are lonesome, aren't you? But it won't matter. This won't end well for you."

Emma glared over to the trapped Hunter. After what he'd done, along with what just went down, she wasn't in the mood to hear his voice.

"What?"

"You can't get rid of all of us. Sooner or later, this hunt will end. And you'll just be another trophy in our lifetime of strife."

Emma made no hesitation to snatch her hunting knife from the desk before holding it near his neck as she spoke with renewed malice.

"What strife?! You killed so many innocent passengers and bragged about it to us! You didn't even stop and think about how their families and friends would feel with them being gone! You didn't even care!"

Despite the knife beside his neck, the Hunter only furrowed his glare before he took his turn to yell.

"They gave us no reason to care!"

Emma's face began to soften as she looked into his face, riddled with anger.

"You spoke to your sliver friend before about how you lost your only family. How did you imagine we felt when they came?"

Emma was at a loss for words. From what she saw, the Hunters didn't much care for the other passengers other than to use them as trophies. But this one… he's making it sound as if it were personal.

"What are you talking about?"

The Hunter only scowled at her as his eyes looked over towards the rummaged desk drawers with countless papers tossed to the floor in Emma's earlier haste.

"Words alone can't make you understand; your ruthlessness proved that much. But maybe you can look at what you've done. And then, look at what you left behind."

Emma only made a shaky deep breath. She's convinced that he's luring her into a trap. That would be crafty of him to try it when he can't move himself.

"You're trying to trick me. It won't work."

"I didn't trick you when I told you where the key was."

"And what? You expect me to thank you?"

"I expect you to know why. Why all those trophies exist in the first place."

Emma's grip on her hunting knife was shaking. She didn't trust him, but on the other hand, there isn't much the Hunter can do being tied up by Visco. Beside that point, Emma didn't find one booby trap at the desk. Perhaps it could be worth investigating, if only to prove he didn't care about anyone. Emma moved her knife away from the Hunter reluctantly as she spoke to him with a leer.

"Fine. But if you're tricking me, you can't blame me for what happens next."

Emma walked over to the desk before looking at the papers scattered all over the table from her earlier rummaging. However, upon closer inspection, Emma began to notice the various pictures that were reminiscent of the ones she saw when she first stepped in the lodge, only… it wasn't just the eight of them. There were so many more people behind them. And they all looked so happy together… there were even children. They were wearing little safari outfits with toy rifles. Emma couldn't help but find them so adorable, even if they were Hunters. Emma gently placed the picture down on the desk before finding out to her shock that the number on her hand had risen to a staggering "333", making her gasp softly as the trapped Hunter, who had been watching as looked at the picture the whole moment in time, spoke up to her.

"We didn't always hunt passengers or denizens. We had our own way of life. Hunting the animals in this jungle was our favorite pastime. And we used to share that with the other passengers who came by to teach them self-reliance. And we taught them as well as we taught our children. But then, one day, they came."

Emma looked over to the trapped Hunter, beginning to see his side of the story. She may not have been present for that, but the trophies in their lounge area gave her that hint.

"Who came?"

"Not just any passengers, I'll tell you that. They called themselves the Scarecrows. They weren't like the others. Their numbers were so high, some of them went up to their very faces. We tried to teach them, but… their leader, the Castigator… he decided to teach us something else. They ransacked our lodge and slaughtered so many of us, faster than we can self-repair ourselves. Not even the children were left alive."

Emma looked back to the picture. It was too horrible, too gruesome for her to imagine that anyone would kill a child. To do that, they'd have to be cold. Lifeless. A Hunter…

"You guys… were hunted, too?"

"For sport. Yes. After many hours of suffering, though, we'd had enough, Nicholas, especially."

"Nicholas?"

"He'd lost his wife and daughter to the Castigator. And he laughed… at his suffering. At our suffering. So, in our anger, we turned our weapons against them. We took out twice as many in their ranks as they did away with ours. After many such slaughters, the Scarecrows abandoned our car. But we were never the same again…"

The trapped Hunter paused a moment as Emma began to show a look of sympathy for the Hunter.

"...I assume you know what that means. What it was like."

Emma began to soften her face into a look of guilt. She had no idea about how much they suffered, and yet she was ready to kill him just to get the key. And all because she lost the one person she loved back home. It wasn't anywhere close to the Hunter's story. Assuming she gets back in time, she might still be able to see her, but them… they can't see their loved ones at all anymore…

"You're not wrong…"

Emma sat down with a sad look on her face as she contemplated the time she had with her mother, even if it included the unsavory parts. She was struggling not to smoke, but no matter what, Emma still tried her best to help her quit and get a better life. And all that work went down the drain when she was taken away. She hadn't been the same since then, either. But all the same, she still didn't think their additional trophies of the innocent passengers were justified.

"But what about the other passengers? It's not like they're not the ones who hurt you."

"One passenger is the same as another to us. Their high numbers prove that. We keep those to remind us never to forgive anyone like them."

Emma looked back at her number, beginning to see it go down slightly from her "333" to a "312". This change made Emma smile a bit, reminding herself that her number would never go that high if she can help it. Not while her mother needs her… She looked back towards the Hunter and Visco before she spoke softly to the slime gerbil.

"Visco… let him go."

In compliance, he began to unravel himself and untied the Hunter before scurrying over to Emma, who picked him up from the ground as the Hunter looked to Emma in surprise.

"What? You would let me go, after what I've told you? Why?"

To answer him, Emma showed him her current number.

"It's because you're wrong about one thing. I'm not like the others. I only just got on this train a few hours ago, and I still don't understand why. But what I do understand, especially just now, is that revenge isn't going to fix anything. It certainly can't piece your life back together."

The Hunter only looked down to the floor sadly as he spoke softly.

"If you practiced what you preached sooner, this would've been a different story."

A small moment of silence lingered between the two as Emma thought back to when she was following the Chrome girl, only to drive her away in the end, remembering the hateful words she gave her prior to the key before she replied.

"You mean if I learned it sooner. That Chrome girl's the only chance I ever had to learn how to get my number down, but… she's gone. And I don't know if she's ever coming back..."

Emma began to shed a small tear of regret from her eye as Visco squeaked sadly towards her. The Hunter gave Emma a small smile of comfort as he tried to reassure her. While he may not have the opportunity to reconnect with those close to him, perhaps Emma could somehow be able to make it right with her.

"Then you'll have to go to her yourself."

Emma looked up, baffled that a Hunter of all people would say such a thing. If she sets out there, the rest of them would come back and finish her off.

"But if I do that—"

"I'll let the others know that the hunt is off. Nicholas would be hard to convince, but if your number isn't as high as the others, he'd let you go."

"You'd really let me go? But why? I trapped you in a chair, I tortured you... I even stabbed you in the head."

The Hunter reassured her before he knocked on his head with his knuckle as he smiled.

"You have shown that you are capable of honor by freeing me. It wouldn't be right if I did not do the same. Besides, at least it wasn't my heart."

Emma made a sigh of relief. If the hunt is canceled, that means Emma would be able to get out alive after all. And that means she'd find a way to make it up to the Chrome Girl and get back to her mother.

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate this, Mr… Uh, what's your name?"

"It's Charlemagne."

Emma gave Charlemagne a small smile as Visco squeaked his own gratitude towards him before Nicholas shouted out to Emma from downstairs, making the redhead and slime gerbil turn towards the door as she listened.

"You can't hide forever, madame! We know you're still in this lodge! And we also know you've got our comrade as your hostage! And as it happens, we have yours!"

Emma made a small gasp to herself in worry.

"She's still here…?"

She thought the Chrome girl had left the car by now. Did they get to her before she could leave? Emma began to feel a pit in her stomach as Nicholas spoke out to her while the other Hunters kept the Chrome girl in their circle with their rifles trained on her. She was tied up to a chair in chains, but despite this, she didn't think it'd be enough to hold her.

"If you do not come out with our comrade, your comrade will become our newest addition to our long list of trophies!"

"Pfft! You really think this is gonna hold me?"

To disprove their effectiveness, she tried to break free from the chains, but her effort had no effect whatsoever. They appeared too strong, even for her, much to her frustration.

"Oh, come on!"

The Hunters around her didn't make it any better with one of the rifles' bayonets poking at her.

"Hey! Watch where you're pointing that thing!"

Nicholas then got out a chrome-like bullet from his pocket as he continued to make the situation more dire with his threat.

"And just so you know the stakes, we use sliver bullets are especially made to pierce through your friend! So I wouldn't place a lot of faith in her odds of surviving it!"

As the Chrone girl looked at the bullet in shock with a gasp, Visco squeaked in worry as he shook in terror with Emma holding him close to keep him calm while she looked over to Charlemagne.

"It'll be okay, Visco. Charlemagne can stop this… can't you?"

Charlemagne looked to the door, hearing how angry Nicholas was becoming from the other side as he shouted.

"If you don't come out by the count of ten, it'll be the end for both of you! One…!"

While Nicholas counted down, the Hunters both cocked up their rifles, making the Chrome girl gulp nervously as Charlemagne looked over to Emma before he spoke under his breath.

"There's no reasoning with Nicholas when he's counting. All chances for negotiation have been thrown out the window."

"Two…!"

"Then what can we do?"

Nicholas' counting grew worse as he shouted before Charlemagne walked up to her and spoke under his breath.

"Three…!"

"I have a plan. But it'll only work if you trust me."

Emma didn't think it was a good time to do that. As much as she felt sorry for him, she still couldn't trust him for all the lives he'd taken since then.

"Four…!"

"Isn't that asking me much after what you did?"

"Five…!"

"There's no time. Don't you want to leave with your friend alive?"

Emma looked towards the door. She can't exactly go out by herself, or the deal's off instantly. And she can't let Charlemagne go by himself or they'll have no need to keep her alive. With no other option, Emma turned back to Charlemagne ready to hear him out as Nicholas counted down..

"Six…! Seven...!"

"Okay. What do we do?"

"Eight…!"

As Nicholas began to count to 9, he put his pointer finger on his thumb, ready to snap it.

"Nine…!"

Just then, before he could count to 10, the study area door opened with Emma shouting to him.

"Wait, stop! Stop!"

Nicholas, the Hunters, and the Chrome girl all looked up to see Emma leaning over the edge of the first floor with Visco on her right shoulder, although the captive of the group was somewhat more worried considering how she acted when she left her behind. But in a moment, she'll find out that Emma has changed since then, though not by much as far as her number's concerned.

"I'll accept the trade on one condition. Once we make the trade, you have to let us get the key and leave your lodge."

Nicholas only glared at Emma, suspecting some sort of foul play is afoot.

"And how do I know you're not doing a double-cross?"

In that moment, Charlemagne walked over beside Emma as she gave her answer, the answer she wouldn't otherwise have if she hadn't been willing to listen to him.

"Because I know why you're doing this. Because you're sad. And angry. Because you hate all the passengers for what they did to your family. And I don't blame you. I was the same way five minutes ago. But Charlemagne showed me there's gotta be a better way to live. It doesn't have to be about survival of the fittest. For either of us."

Nicholas kept his glare on Emma, but hearing her words softened his face some inches. And the Chrome girl put on a small smile. For a moment, she was worried that Emma would've stayed on the dark path she left her at. And although she wasn't looking for "a commitment", it did her some good to know that she didn't stay there. Emma saw her and smiled back at her before Nicholas spoke out to her again.

"And what? You expect us to forgive you?"

Emma's face saddened, knowing how hard they must've endured this kind of life by the amount of trophies in the room.

"You don't have to. Passengers aren't always good people, I can admit that. But we can still change. And I still am."

Emma proved this as she held her numbered hand out to the Hunters, making them murmur in surprise before she looked back to it, seeing it was going down to "296". Seeing that progress made her smile a bit before she spoke on.

"And according to Charlemagne, you guys are only interested in higher numbers. But mine's getting lower. And last I checked, you're not interested in lower numbers, are you?"

Nicholas tensed his hand before he gave a soft growl. Emma did have a point. With her number being lower than their trophies', there was no point in hunting her beyond vengeance. That said, he gave Emma his answer.

"Alright. Hunters, lower your weapons, and clear away. Once the trade is done, you two will leave the lodge."

This made the other Hunters groan in disappointment as they lowered their weapons away from the Chrome girl before Nicholas undid the chains that bound her and walked with his hand on her arm while Emma walked down with Charlemagne. He still kept his glare towards Emma while the girl became unnerved as she whispered to him.

"Are you sure this is gonna work, Charlemagne?"

"It will. He doesn't know your friend has the key yet. If he truly is willing to let you go free, he'll ask one of us to bring it to you."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Leave that to me…"

Charlemagne then tensed his own hand into a fist before the two of them reached the bottom of the stairs where they met Nicholas and the Chrome girl as the former spoke up.

"Now, hand him over."

Emma was still nervous about the plan, but she had to keep up the act as she spoke up to him with a glare of her own.

"Only if you hand her over, too."

After Visco squeaked in Emma's support, Nicholas nodded to her in compliance before he shoved the Chrome girl over to Emma, who caught her in her arms before she looked over to Charlemagne with a hopeful look before he nodded to her and walked over to Nicholas as the Chrome girl looked over to Emma in worry. He didn't know that she was the one who held the key, and if he found out while they were in this position, it'd be game over for both of them.

"What are you doing? I already have the key…"

"I know. But he doesn't know that."

With the Hunter by his side, Nicholas spoke up again to Emma.

"And with that, the exchange is done. As per your conditions, the two of you will leave this lodge and never come here again."

"That's right. And you know what our conditions ask for, right?"

"Ah, yes. The key. I haven't forgotten."

Nicholas only turned over to one of the Hunters behind him and pointed to him.

"You. Find that key, and when you do, put it where no one will ever find it again."

"You got it, gov'nor."

As the Hunter nodded and ran up the stairs, Emma furrowed her glare at Nicholas. She wasn't exactly surprised that he'd go back on the deal, but that didn't mean she wasn't angry. And per Charlemagne's plan, she tried her best to make it appear as though she was outraged as she spoke.

"You tricked us! You lied!"

"No. All I agreed to was that you'd leave the lodge. I never said you'd leave it alive."

Nicholas then got out his rifle and aimed it at Emma and the Chrome girl, much to Charlemagne's worry for the two of them as he piped up.

"But Nicholas, is it really necessary? It's obvious she's not like the other passengers."

As Nicholas turned towards Charlemagne, Emma looked to Visco and whispered to him.

"You know what to do, right?"

Visco squeaked gently at her before jumping off of her and hopping over to the giant bear statue with the Chrome girl becoming confused over what he was heading to the statue for while Nicholas argued with Charlemagne.

"Of course, it's necessary! If we let any of them live, it's only a matter of time before they overwhelm us!"

"What are you guys doing?"

"It's okay. We have a plan."

As Charlemagne argued with Nicholas, Visco went up near the bear statue's giant hind paw before flattening himself and going underneath it.

"But is it really justified to hunt them when they're not the ones who wronged us?"

"Passengers end up on this train for one reason, Charlemagne! And that's because they do not care about anyone else!"

"Did you not listen to Emma's professions? How can she lie about knowing what we've gone through?"

"As easily as she can breathe the air! Now, stand aside! I have a hunt to finish!"

Nicholas pointed his rifle at Emma and the Chrome girl before he spoke condescendingly to the former.

"Any last words, passenger?"

Emma simply gave Nicholas a small smirk as she answered.

"Just a few. Now, Visco!"

Nicholas widened his eyes in confusion before the giant bear statue began to wobble, much to the Hunters' confusion. A few seconds after, the statue began to move closer to the Hunters. But the most surprising thing was what was at the hind paw: Visco was getting bigger and lifting the paw with his back! But Nicolas wasn't giving up without a fight.

"Hunters, shoot that Viscoso Mutans!"

On command, the Hunters shot at Visco, but the bullets only went through its gelatinous body, having no effect on him whatsoever as he continued to grow. And when the slime gerbil had grown to the same size of the statue, Visco pushed the statue right on top of the panicked Hunters, pinning them to the ground as they groaned from the pain. All the while, the Chrome girl looked on in surprise from what had occurred.

"Uh, did Visco just turn into a giant?"

Emma was just as surprised as well. Although she was told of what Visco was capable of, she didn't think being a giant was part of shifting.

"Yeah. Yeah, he did."

Nicholas glared back at Emma and the Chrome girl, outraged by the apparent subterfuge as he aimed his rifle back at them.

"So what if he did? You still won't live to see another dawn!"

Nicholas aimed his rifle right at the Chrome girl, making her exclaim in fear. Seeing her life was in danger, Emma couldn't let it happen. With almost no hesitation, Emma stood in front of the Chrome girl with a glare towards him.

"If you want her, you'll have to go through me first!"

"My plan exactly."

Nicholas kept his rifle trained on her and was about to pull the trigger, only for Charlemagne to lunge at him with a shout.

"NO!"

Just as Nicholas pulled the trigger, Charlemagne had pushed his rifle away, causing the bullet to whiz past Emma and the Chrome girl and right at the stairs as they ducked for cover. When the sliver bullet that was fired had connected, it only made a perfect compact hole through where it penetrated the wood. Emma and the Chrome girl looked behind them to see where the bullet went and became speechless from the impact it had made. The two of them then looked back quickly to Charlemagne and Nicholas as they fought over the rifle, both each trying to overpower the other as Nicholas growled at him.

"How dare you…!"

"Now's your chance! Head for the door! Leave this place!"

Seeing the brawl, Emma grew concerned for how it'd turn out between the two.

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me! Just go!"

Emma nodded to Charlemagne before she took the Chrome girl's hand and made a break for it.

"Let's go."

As much as she wanted to stay and help him, Emma knew Charlemagne would be able to repair himself as well as Nicholas can. That should at least distract him long enough for them to escape. And she wasn't going to let that window go to waste. However, that didn't make the Chrome girl any less confused as she inquired to Emma.

"Okay, when the heck did you decide to work with him?"

"I'll explain it once we're out of this."

However, the Hunter that was previously sent to relocate the key took notice of them as he exited the study area and shouted at them. Unfortunately, having looked in the drawer himself, he'd realized they already had the key, and he knew better than to let them escape.

"Oi! You thieves ain't going nowhere!"

He aimed his rifle at the two of them and made a quick shot almost immediately. The bullet ended up hitting the Chrome girl in the head, knocking her to the floor and Emma along with her. Recovering from the sudden fall that came with her holding onto her arm when she fell, Emma worriedly looked at the Chrome girl and hoped that the bullet didn't kill her.

"No! Are you okay?!"

The Chrome girl only groaned as she got up.

"I think so..."

When she did, Emma noticed to her relief that the bullet didn't penetrate through her at all. She removed it from the back of her head and the two of them saw that it was just a regular bullet. The Hunter who made that shot grew frustrated with himself.

"Oh, bollocks! I should've used that sliver bullet."

Having overheard this, the Chrome girl had other plans. She took the bullet from Emma's palm before placing it on her thumb, getting ready to flick it as she replied.

"Yeah, no."

She immediately flicked the bullet, sending it straight at the Hunter before it hit him in the head and sent him tumbling backwards to the study area before she pumped her arm.

"Gotcha!"

Despite that momentary setback, Emma and the Chrome girl headed for the exit door as the former looked to her, hoping she didn't lose it.

"Do you still have that key?!"

To answer, she got out the key from her jacket pocket and showed it to Emma.

"I never lost it!"

"Good!"

Meanwhile, Charlemagne was still holding Nicholas at bay, but with limited success as the latter had pushed him to a wall and pinned him.

"Any last words, old friend? Come on. Spit it out."

Charlemagne only responded by using his sharp teeth to bite into the rifle before spitting out the broken piece right at Nicholas, sending him tumbling backwards to the floor as he fell. While Nicholas was recovering from such an unorthodox maneuver, Charlemagne spat out the iron left over in his teeth. But as Nicholas got up, he saw Emma and the Chrome girl using the key on the door, unlocking the lock as it opened before it faded away. Emma knew this was their chance.

"The lock's gone! We have to open this thing!"

Emma turned back to the gargantuan Visco, who was breaking the other Hunters' rifles while keeping them trapped with his paw on the statue that flattened them.

"Visco, come back!"

With that, Visco got off the statue and began to shrink back to its normal size before scurrying up along Emma's leg and into her jacket pocket. However, Nicholas was only further infuriated by this. He spent a long lifetime getting back at any passenger who dared to enter the lodge. The fact that they were about to get away would not only be a stain on his hunting record, but a stain on his honor as well. And his honor demanded retribution. Not willing to let it go unanswered, Nicholas took his broken piece of the rifle and tore out the bayonet before standing up as he shouted, catching their attention.

"Enough of this! This game ends now!"

Charlemagne noticed this and rushed towards Nicholas before holding him in a full-nelson, keeping him away from Emma and the Chrome girl before he shouted.

"Stop wasting time! Open the door and escape!"

Nicholas only growled before he used his bayonet to stab Charlemagne in the head from the top, making him groan as the length of it extended closer to where Emma's hunting knife was. It was a vital area that left him especially vulnerable. And Nicholas took advantage of the lapse it provided as he elbowed him in the gut before kicking him to the wall, much to Emma and the Chrome girl's horror as the former shouted.

"Charlemagne!"

Nicholas drew closer towards his wounded enemy as he spoke with a vicious scowl.

"And as for you, as much as I loathe passengers, I despise traitorous turncoats even more!"

As he brandished his bayonet in a stabbing position, Emma looked over to the Chrome girl. She knew how much she didn't care for her following her. And beside that, Emma wouldn't know if she could forgive herself if anything happened to her, no matter how much of a jerk she had been to her. She herself had been just as much a jerk as she was, if not more so. She wanted to make it up to her, and this was the only way she could think of after what happened between them.

"Listen, I need you to take the exit and go on without me. I'm staying here to help him."

The Chrome girl became baffled to hear it from Emma. After all that time following her just to learn how to survive in the train, she'd decided to respect her earlier wishes to let her travel alone. And for another reason, she was going back to help one of the Hunters that hunted them. He may have helped them get this far, but she wasn't in the mood to forgive him, even if she felt the previous torture was too much for him. She saw no logic to it whatsoever.

"But he's a Hunter! You don't owe that guy anything!"

Of course, Emma knew she'd missed a lot since they parted ways at the study area. After all she'd been told, Emma didn't feel right about leaving him behind to die. Her heart wouldn't let her move on otherwise.

"Actually, I do. I owe the both of you."

Emma rushed towards Nicholas as she took off her jacket while the Chrome girl looked on, not sure if she should take Emma's advice.

"Emma…"

Nicholas raised his bayonet, ready to strike him down as he spoke bitterly.

"For turning your back on your family, and therefore, your honor, I hereby sentence you to death!"

Before he could strike it down, though, Emma blinded him with her jacket. In his fury, he began to flail his arms behind him with Emma dodging the bayonet to keep from getting stabbed. Of course, the struggle didn't last for long; Nicholas used his other hand to grab Emma before tossing her to the floor beside Charlemagne as he raised his bayonet to strike at them again.

"You should've heeded his advice, and ran away when you had the chance!"

However, just when he was about to stab at Emma, something else stopped him from completing his hunt: he was stabbed through the chest from behind by another bayonet! And his heart, which turned out to be a robotic red heart with arteries that seemed to flow from that and into the whole body filled with stuffing, was exposed to the air, stuck at its very tip. Emma and Charlemagne stood dumbfounded at the sudden turn of events as Nicholas spoke softly.

"Oh, bollocks…"

A few seconds later, Nicholas fell to the ground, revealing the Chrome girl just behind him, holding the bayonet that took his life. Emma widened her eyes towards her in a daze. She didn't think she'd be willing to help her after how she'd treated her, her temperament aside.

"You… you followed me?"

The Chrome girl gave her a smirk as she replied and held her hand out to her.

"I'd like to think we were going the same way."

Emma gave her a smile back with a small blush on her cheeks as she took her hand and sat up straight before Charlemagne did the same and looked out towards the trapped Hunters. He was aware of the irony done on Visco's part as he spoke in regards to that.

"Well, it seems that the Hunters have become the hunted. If that isn't karma, I wouldn't know what is."

Emma looked over to Visco, raising an eyebrow at him for his attack.

"You really went all out on them, huh?"

Visco squeaked in reply before the Chrome girl turned to Charlemagne.

"So, what are you gonna do with them?"

For him, the answer was easy. Nicholas may not have had the opportunity to stray from his dark path of vengeance, but he hoped that he could turn the rest away from it. He gave his answer as he looked to the unconscious Hunters before turning to Emma.

"Even if they followed Nicholas' path of hate, they're still my family. I'm going to reform them and help them learn to be better, just as I did with you, Emma."

Emma looked at the Hunters before looking back to Nicholas' remains. She had a feeling that they wouldn't let Nicholas' death go that easily.

"But how do you think they'll take it when they find out what happened to Nicholas? Won't they turn against you?"

"Who can say? I do not understand the way my brethren's way of thinking can work. But if I don't try to understand them… I'd be no better than the Hunters who destroyed our family."

Emma gave him a gentle smile before she hugged him. In the short time she knew him, Emma didn't expect to have understood him as much as she had. But if it weren't for that, she'd never have gotten her head straight, and she and the Chrome girl would have been destroyed. That's when it hit her. Maybe that's what One-One meant. It's not just her companion she should reach out to: it's everyone on the train. Of course, there are some bad ones to consider, like Nicholas. But if she could understand them, she may find a good soul like Charlemagne. And as Emma looked at the Chrome girl, seeing her smile at her again, she also realized that she may have found a good soul already.

Later, Emma and the Chrome girl were walking out of the door, both of them waving goodbye to Charlemagne as they shouted.

"Goodbye! I hope you'll be okay!"

"Yeah! And I hope you don't hunt people anymore!"

Charlemagne waved back at them as he shouted back.

"Fare thee well, my friends! Fare thee well!"

With that, the door closed itself, and Emma, Visco, and the Chrome girl were on their way again. The third of the group looked back to Emma, wondering what it took for the two of them to get along.

"So, how was it that when I saw you again, the two of you were suddenly friends?"

Emma couldn't help but feel embarrassed as she answered.

"Well, about that… when you left, he told me I was as ruthless as I was alone. It turned out, he was just like me. Their family was taken away, too. And those trophies they had were reminders of… of how terrible passengers can be."

The Chrome girl's face softened from Emma's explanation. It's not an easy thing to hear about how awful you actually are. She learned that when she found her freedom, only to be rejected by the actions they made to get said freedom. In that sense, she knew what that was like.

"So, that Hunter… he made you realize how… awful you've been?"

Emma made a deep sigh before she answered, looking back to the Chrome girl.

"Yeah. Pretty much."

When she looked in her eyes, Emma felt the guilt of their arguments coming up inside her, remembering the hurtful things she'd said before as she spoke sadly, turning towards the edge of the bridge mid-sentence before looking out over the bleak horizon as wind blew in her hair.

"Listen, I'm… I'm sorry. For everything I ever said to you, especially for… calling you a jackass, and saying you had no friends… It's just that I was angry, and tired, and scared… I still didn't see what the train had against me helping my mom. In fact, I still don't. Maybe it's because I went about it the wrong way, or something. I don't know. But it gave me no right to act like a jackass to you. No wonder you didn't want me to follow you; I wouldn't have wanted that person to follow me, either. So, you can go ahead without me, if you still want. I won't bother you, this time."

The Chrome girl made a sigh herself before she stood by her and looked out on the bridge, too. She wasn't exactly perfect, either. The two of them can relate to each other that way. With what she knew about Emma, the Chrome girl can't exactly blame her for hating the Hunters back when they initially tried to kill them. She didn't like them any more than she did. And her own arguments and insults didn't exactly put her on Emma's good side to begin with; she knew some of that was on her.

"Actually, I wanna apologize to you, too. Not just for everything I said about you, but… for also trying to get rid of you. I guess I just didn't want to be labeled as some denizen of the train made specifically to help people grow. That's not all I am. I just wanted to live my own life. And, I'm not gonna lie, when I did get my own life, my, um… friends didn't like how I went on about it. But they still helped me live my life, anyway. And I was so happy that they did. So, I promised them that I wouldn't use anyone for my own gain anymore."

Emma recalled what the Chrome girl said to her before when she stormed off, that she would be keeping her promise to her friends. Yet, she's here by herself. She had to wonder what happened.

"So… how come they're not with you?"

"Well, they asked if I wanted to come with them, but I told them I'm going my own way. And you know what? They respected that, just like you."

Emma gave her a soft smile before the Chrome girl spoke onwards, beginning to develop a slight dark grey shade on her cheeks.

"But, the thing is… I don't know how I'm supposed to go my own way by leaving you behind. I mean, the fact that you found me is a coincidence, and I've just been making a big deal over nothing this whole time. Plus, you've been super helpful in this whole mess, and you did try to take the bullet for me, so…"

Reading in between her lines, Emma caught on to what she's trying to ask her.

"Hold on. Are you saying you'll… help me?"

While it was technically true, the Chrome girl tried to keep her from thinking of anything she considered crazy. Still, she couldn't deny that after what she'd just heard about Emma.

"Well, just until you get back to your mom, but… yeah. I guess I am."

In that sudden moment, Emma quickly hugged the Chrome girl as newborn tears streamed down her closed eyes while Visco gave his own hug around her neck.

"Thank you… You have no idea how much I wanted to hear those words. From anyone."

While Visco gave a short squeak towards Emma, the Chrome girl began to blush again. After a brief moment of hesitation, the Chrome girl gently stopped her hug as she spoke to Emma in an embarrassed tone.

"Uh, okay. We can… stop that, now."

Emma took her turn to blush next. She didn't realize how clingy she was getting. Maybe the fact that nobody thought to help her with her mom got to her in the heat of the moment, but she didn't mean to do that with the Chrome girl. Hopefully, she wouldn't think anything of it later, Emma hoped, as she spoke up in a similar tone.

"Oh! Right. Sorry."

Despite her apology, Emma couldn't hold back her smile as she remembered that she never did get to know the Chrome girl's name.

"So, what is your name? I know you don't like to tell me, but since we're gonna be together for a while, I'd like to know you."

The Chrome girl put her fingers on her chin and brushed them for a bit as she tried to decide. Then, after a moment, she turned back to Emma and gave her answer.

"My name's M.T."

Emma gave a smile back to her as she held it out for her to shake. "It's nice to meet you, M.T." With that, M.T. reached her hand out to shake Emma's, marking their beginning of what could possibly be a beautiful friendship...

A/N: And here it is. I hope you liked this moment between Emma and M.T. :) There's bound to be more moments like this in the near future. And as for the cast in this particular chapter, I happen to know a few choice actors for the Hunters. For Nicholas, he's portrayed by Hugh Grant while Charlemagne is voiced by John Rhys-Davies, and Sirloin is portrayed by Jeff Bennett. That said, you can expect another rocker in my next chapter, which will hopefully be added within this week or the next. Until then, keep reading to your hearts' content. :)