And here's chapter 4! Featuring campfires, burnt sausages, returning faces, and Frida holding David like a bride.It all will make sense soon, I promise. XDBut first, let's answer some reviews:1) OMAC001: That'll be quite the story, I assure you.2) GokaiSilver3511: Thanks.3) Omega Ultra:* Some journeys have a rocky start, and Hilda knows that now.* It's quite a story, let me tall ya...And now, to the chapter!

Hilda threw a fist in front of her before getting up, shouting out loud a fox-like battle cry before her injuries caught up to her.

"Easy now, Hilda. You need to rest as much as you can."

Helga's familiar voice made Hilda turn around to see her fellow bluette sitting on a log, roasting some sausages on a campfire while Branch rested next to her.

Then she looked up, and saw the sunset on the horizon, with Hilda taking a quick glance around her to see Alfur and Twig by her side.

"How long was I unconscious?" she asked, rubbing her forehead. "And how many meals did I miss?! Now that I think about it, at this point, Mum's definitely gonna have a heart attack! She might even have my head when-"

Hilda's injuries acted up, causing her to clutch her stomach and groan.

"Hilda, you still haven't recovered from the fight at the mountain," Alfur said as he walked to Hilda's side. "I know the situation's stressful, but try to stay calm so you can recover."

"You should listen to your miniature friend over there," Helga spoke, focusing solely on the campfire. "He seems to know your limitations better than you do."

Rather than catch on to the insult, Hilda asked, "Wait, you can see Alfur?"

"I took the liberty of having her sign the necessary papers," Alfur explained, tipping off his hat to reveal some paperwork on top of his head. "I always carry a dozen copies of the necessary paperwork, and since we're here for the long haul, I thought it was for the best."

Hilda turned to Twig, who nodded in agreement, and it was then that she realized something.

"Wait, we're no longer at the Woff King's Mountain. No longer at the Woff Lands. So, that must mean I passed the Woff King's test, right?!"

"Oh no, you failed. Quite miserably if I may add," Helga confessed, holding back a giggle. "It was the most spectacular failure I had ever seen up to that point, even."

Hilda clenched her fist, shooting a glare at Helga as it trembled.

"No, the reason we're here is because the Woff King insisted that Branch and I come along with you on your journey."

Hilda calmed down a little, her anger replaced with confusion. "Wait, I thought the test was to determine whether we'd get out of that place or not?"

Helga shook her head. "You were always gonna leave, Hilda: the test was to determine whether you could take care of yourself, or if you'd need an extra helping hand for the journey ahead. And as it should be obvious from your number, Branch and I will come with you."

Remembering her number, Hilda looked at her palm, and gasped in disbelief. Se

"250!? It was barely 220 before we saw the Woff King! How did it shoot up so high?!"

"That, I'm afraid, is something I can't really tell you," Helga answered. "How that number works and what makes it go up or down is something you'll have to figure out yourself."

Hearing that, Hilda looked at her number once again... and she asked the obvious:

"Hey, I know you said you don't know much about this number, but do you think it's better for it to go up, or down?"

"Depends," Helga threw a raised eyebrow at Hilda. "Do you wanna know what happens when your number grows bigger than your palm?"

"It's better if it goes down," Hilda lowered her head. "Got it."

Helga hummed and went back to the campfire, with the girls remaining silent with each other while their companions looked at them with worry.

"I'm... not sure how to say this," Hilda sighed. "But listen, I know I've been a bit... anxious, to get out of here-"

"And you want to apologize?" Helga interjected. "If saying "I'm sorry" is too much for you, maybe telling me the reason why you're so anxious to leave would work?"

"I can do that!" Hilda chirped. "See, there was this one time while I was going to visit my old friend, Wood Man, and we got lost. We searched a way back home for hours until we found a house that was... conveniently around-"

Helga raised an eyebrow. "And that house made you weary of this place?"

Hilda twiddled her fingers. "The house was supernatural in nature. Once we got in, the house did everything it could to keep us in. Alfur, Twig, and another friend tried to help, but they got stuck too."

Alfur and Twig frowned.

"And how did you leave?" Helga inquired. "What, did you request the house to take you back home?"

"That's pretty much what happened, actually," Alfur laughed nervously.

"... And if this place works anything like that house..." Hilda smiled. "I might know how to get out of here!"

Hilda closed her eyes and grunted as she tried to think of a way to leave, but Helga barely paid attention to her.

"Huh, I figured we'd be free by now. Maybe I need to say my thoughts out loud? Bring me back home, bring me back home-"

"Sorry to break it to you, but wherever you are now, it doesn't work like that house you mentioned," Helga sighed. "Besides, Dad tried the exact same trick, and it failed as well. If he couldn't do it, then there's no way you could."

Hilda pouted and folded her arms. "Well, aren't you the optimist?"

Helga glanced at Hilda, and with her smile returning, she asked:

"Since you told me a story, how about I tell you one of my own?"

"You have stories?" Hilda asked with a raised eyebrow. "But I thought you never left the cottage?"

"And I wasn't lying, Dad and I never left our home, sweet home..." Helga's tone suddenly turned serious. "But just because we never left, doesn't mean we never got... visitors."

Hilda's eyes widened. "Visitors?"

"People with numbers, just like you, but their numbers were bigger. Far bigger." Helfa pulled her sleeve back, then raised her arm. "So big, in fact, it covered their arms."

Hilda gulped. "It-It did?"

Helga nodded. "From the tips of their fingers, down to their elbows, they were covered by one giant number. And that's not all."

"It's not?" Alfur asked.

"No, these people... they were raiders. One way or another, they raided our homes in hopes of getting anything they could use: food, supplies, stuff like that."

Hilda rubbed her arm. "That sounds... rough..."

"And it only got worse," Helga lowered her head. "They began destroying the furniture, the walls, everything, believing that the real valuable stuff was just hidden. And then they threatened me, right on Dad's presence."

"And what did he do?" Alfur asked. "Did he drive them away?"

"He did... but he didn't do so peacefully. He grabbed and axe, and began to swing. Pretty sure he blinded some of the raiders in the process. And when he did, they tucked their tails between their legs and ran away as fast as they could."

Hilda lowered her head as Helga added:

"I learned a very valuable lesson that day. How high's the number tells you how bad a person is," Helga faced Hilda, a serious expression on her faced. "Bad people have high numbers. The worst people have numbers bigger than their palms. But good people have low numbers."

Hearing that, Hilda looked at her number once again, while Helga added:

"I know what you're thinking, and before you ask anything, let me ask you a question: do you think you're a bad person, Hilda?"

"... No..."

"Do you want to be a bad person?"

Hilda clenched her fist.

"No."

"The number, as you know now, gets higher or lower depending on what you do," Hilda leaned forward. "So, with all this in mind... what will you do, Hilda?"

"Well, for starters, I'll let you know that your sausage is burning to a crisp."

Helga looked back at her sausages, and screamed as the branch she used to cook them caught on fire, waving it around in hopes of extinguishing the flames.

"But as for what I'll actually do, It's become pretty clear to me," Hilda said, looking at her palm while Helga threw away the burnt stick into the campfire. "Going by what you said, keeping my number as high as possible won't help me whatsoever. If I want to go back home... prove I'm better than those bad people... I need to get this number to drop to zero."

Hilda's number shrank soon after, though it was by a mere five. Still, it was better than nothing.

Especially since Hilda's growling stomach gave her other things to worry about.

"So, do we have something for lunch?"

Helga looked back at the campfire, then snapped her fingers.

"I think I saw a restaurant near this area! I could go get us something to eat!"

Alfur raised an eyebrow. "You got money?"

Helga took off her beret to reveal a bunch of money. "I'm always prepared, elf boy. Now, Hilda, anything you'd like in particular?"

"Something with meat, please."

Helga flashed a thumbs up, and immediately ran away, leaving Hilda to lay back on the ground with a saddened frown.

"What's wrong, Hilda?"

"I just realized something: Mum's gotta be worried... but how are my friends doing without me around?"

David and Frida walked along the streets of Trolberg, the latter kicking a can along the way.

"Man, I can't believe Hilda ran off like that," she said. "I mean, considering how she's acted, I guess we should've seen it coming, but still, it's quite a shock."

"I'm a bit more worried that we don't know where she went," David commented. "I mean, we already talked with everybody who was up last night: the police, the librarian, that old lady who's surname I can't pronounce, and none of them saw her. Where could she have gone to?"

"She hopped onto a train."

The duo stopped on their tracks and turned to the source of the voice: a certain twin-tailed Blonde girl who was checking her mirror.

"It's you!" Frida narrowed her eyes. "The Marra who gave David nightmares!"

"Ugh, please, could you not?" she growled, focusing solely on her mirror. "Call me Amanda."

"Is that your real name?" David asked while hiding behind Frida.

"Hah, you'd wish!" the teenager chuckled. "No, it's just a name you can use. Most Marra aren't allowed to give their names to strangers, but "the Marra that gave that little scaredy cat boy nightmares" is too bothersome, so "Amanda" will have to be a compromise."

"The Marra don't share their real names?" Frida repeated. "Then Kelly-"

"Are you gonna listen to my train story or not?"

The duo exchanged looks, and after thinking about it, they nodded.

"Well, I was searching for a new victim to put through nightmares, right? Well, while I was floating around, I spotted your blue-haired brat of a friend stomping to the city limits, and I followed her. She sounded very angry, like something had happened to her that seriously soured her mood."

"Did you manage to hear what she was saying?" Frida asked.

Amanda shook her head. "I was too far away to hear her clearly. Although, even if I was close enough, I wouldn't have paid attention: I'm a nightmare maker and eater, if it doesn't help me get the girls a good meal, then it's none of my business."

"And what happened next?" David inquired.

"The police messed things up, like usual," Amanda rolled her eyes. "They patrolled near the spot she was, and she got scared. She ran away, and then, it appeared."

Amanda closed her mirror and faced the duo, leaning closer as she spoke:

"A giant black train of seemingly infinite length, whose doors opened to reveal a green portal to who knows where! Having little choice, the girl hopped in, and once she did..."

Amanda clapped her hands as hard as she could, causing David to jump and land on Frida's arms.

"The doors closed, and the train rode off into the unknown, taking your friend with it."

Amanda leaned back and went back to her mirror.

"After that, I decided to follow the police to see if I they saw anything, but by the time they arrived, the train was long gone."

"So that's why the police didn't know anything," David said as he was gently placed on the ground. "Did you see anything else?"

"Well, not so much see as I remembered something," Amanda shrugged. "But the train looked very similar to the one my friend Kelly boarded a few weeks ago."

That immediately caught the pair's attention.

"Wait, what?!"

"Yeah, Kelly said that she was feeling really upset about something, and her mother suggested she took a train that, and I quote, "always helps you grow as a person," Amanda casually explained. "She texted me how it looked: bigger than average, Black, seemingly infinite and with green glowing portals, everything matched."

"If there's a Marra in the same place as Hilda, that can only mean bad news!"

"Um, rude much?" Amanda rolled her eyes. "However, if you're planning to get on that train, I say go for it. I bet the nightmares you and your boyfriend would get from that trip would be the best!"

"Wait a minute, I see the hint, and you can't do that!" Frida snapped. "We made a deal! You were gonna leave David alone and not give him nightmares anymore!"

"Read the fine print, kid: I, alone, won't bother your boyfriend or give him nightmares," Amanda replied with a cocky grin. "But there's more than one Marra, and if the others want to enjoy his nightmares, there's nothing I can do about it. He'll just have to scream and bare it."

And with that, Amanda chuckled and walked away, pocketing her hands as she disappeared into an alleyway.

But just as her anger surged, so did Frida get an idea.

"Maybe she's got a good idea."

David frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe, just maybe, we need to get upset enough that the train will consider us as passengers! That way, once we go in, we can start looking for Hilda!"

"But Frida, that plan's utterly bonkers!" David replied. "How's an interdimensional train going to know we're upset enough that we're worthy to enter a self-reflecting journey to look for Hilda? And even if it knew, couldn't it also reject us so Hilda will have to deal with her problems on her own?"

"Then we'll just have to hope our own self-discovery takes us straight to Hilda," Frida folded her arms. "But we need to get on that train somehow."

David lowered his head, looking visibly upset before he raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I just thought of something: you and I have had problems long before Hilda arrived in Trolberg, right?" David pondered. "Then, why hasn't the train taken us yet, and why did it take Hilda first?"

Frida's eyes widened for a second... before she shook off the thought.

"First things first, David, we need to get on the train."

But as the duo walked back home, they both were clearly worried about the nature of the question.

Needless to say, the faster they got on the train, the better.