Her heart thundered in her ears. Her legs were on fire. Her breaths grew shorter and shorter with each passing second. But Tulip couldn't afford to stop. Not even for a moment. The roars were still dangerously near.
She crashed through a low hanging branch. Stumbled as her boots hit a patch of mud. Vaulted over a rotting log. Desperately, desperately held back her tears, even as her eyes burned, even as she choked from the sobs threatening to escape her throat.
This isn't fair. Her number hit zero. It's supposed to be over. She's supposed to be home.
The beast's roar echoed, still as close as before. It's chasing her, and it's keeping pace. She hasn't even got a good look at it. Only glimpses of misshapen limbs in the dark, relentless footfalls that shook the earth with each step, and roars that sounded like the unholy love child of an elephant's trumpet and a jet engine from hell.
Her blind sprinting led her to a cliff edge. She couldn't see what awaited her at the bottom, but she spotted a hollow log leaning against the edge, leading towards the darkness. Tulip didn't give herself time to doubt. The beast didn't either. She slipped inside and slid down, hoping to god nothing worse greeted her in the dark.
The log stretched far longer than normal. It twisted and bent in truly unnatural ways. The ride down reminded her of a novelty tube slide at a waterpark. Or maybe her panic-addled mind was playing tricks on her. Hitting her head over and over against the insides of the log as it turned and looped and spun most likely won't be good for the brain.
The log slide spat her out into the air. Unprepared, she landed hard on her back, knocking the wind from her lungs. The pain overwhelmed her. She coughed and wheezed, letting her eyes flutter to a close, letting the exhaustion claim her.
The train rarely made sense, but One-One made one rule clear: when your number reaches zero, you can go home. She saw North Branch. She saw her house, her front yard, her front door. When she stepped through, she should be home. Why did it lead her here?
Terrible roars snapped her eyes open. The beast hasn't given up yet.
No. After five months on the train, after the mirror police, after the fake Conductor, she won't give up now. If the train wanted to place one last obstacle in her way, then she'll adapt.
Tulip forced herself up with her elbows and took in her surroundings. Silver rays of moonlight pierced through the thick canopy in a few spots, making it easier to see. It seemed she had landed on an ancient, gargantuan dead tree, easily the same width as an entire highway, suspended several hundred feet above the jungle floor by a mass of mighty vines thicker than her entire body. She could see other trees in the distance roughly the same size as the one she's on, still rooted to the ground, reaching towards the stars like skyscrapers.
"What is this, the Ancient Jungle Car?"
Tulip tensed. That terrible roar again, coming from above.
Her body screamed in pain as she scrambled to her feet. She nearly lost her footing when the entire log rumbled, as something heavy and large and angry touched down on the spot where she was moments ago. This time, she got the chance to spin around and take a good look at the beast. Instantly, she regretted the decision.
Structurally, the beast bore the barest amount of a resemblance to a T-rex - large hind legs, a pair of tiny arms, and a massive head - but that's where the similarities end. The 'legs' were little more than three bulbous masses of flesh stacked on top of one another, connected to the main body with strands of skin and bone. The 'arms' were a pair of flailing tentacles, from which smaller tentacles sprout from. The 'head' had two faces - one was reptilian, with gnashing teeth and slitted eyes, while the other was disturbingly human, with a grin literally splitting its face open. The human face was the source of the terrible roars.
Tulip briefly wondered why the beast had ceased to chase after her, until she realized its rough landing had caused it to get one of its bulbous legs stuck in the tree. It flailed with wild abandon, trying to pry its leg free, roaring and crying and smashing everything around it, almost like it's an infant throwing a tantrum.
Tulip almost smiled. That would buy her more time. Until she heard something snap, and the entire log trembled. She didn't need to look. The vines, thick as they were, won't hold.
Tulip turned and sprinted towards the edge. More snaps, more tremors, as the beast's tantrum only grew worse. She could feel the wood beneath her beginning to break apart, too. All the more reason to get off this log now.
A great, ear-splitting crack drew her eyes over her shoulder. The beast had freed its leg. A series of cracks filled the air as the entire log began to crumble and tear in half from the hole it left behind. The beast had no chance of escaping it, standing so close to the source. It fell into the abyss, screeching all the while. Good. One problem solved.
Many more to go.
Tulip knew she couldn't outrun the tear. She threw herself prone, dug her fingers into the wood, clenched her eyes shut, and hoped with all of her heart that she'll survive.
The cracks rang louder than thunder. She felt the log starting to tilt, faster and faster and faster, the wind whipping past her like lashes against her sweat-soaked skin. A chorus of snaps followed the cracks as she now dangled completely vertical to the ground, the ancient vines unable to withstand the motion. And neither could she. Her left hand slipped as the swing reached its apex. Her right hand gave way at the recoil. Suddenly, she's in freefall.
Her world was chaos. Up, down, left, or right no longer mattered. A scream left her throat outside of her will. A whirlwind of foliage, of branches and vines and leaves consumed her, battered her, tossed her around like a ragged doll.
Tulip didn't remember passing out. But when she regained her senses, she was lying against some kind of fibrous mesh, her body ached all over, her ponytail's come undone, the right lens of her glasses was cracked, and her left arm throbbed in pain, trapped under her body in an awkward angle. On the bright side, she's still alive. The pain meant that she survived.
Tulip carefully moved her left arm from under her, hissing as the pain flared, the arm screaming in protest. Dislocated? Maybe. Hopefully not. Hopefully it was only a sprain. She took in her surroundings - not easy with her being in near complete darkness and having a cracked lens. Best she could tell, she's surrounded by old metal, rusted and halfway claimed by nature, everything seemed tilted at an extreme vertical angle, and that the fibrous mesh she landed on reminded her a lot of netting used to secure cargo during flights. She looked up and spotted tiny slivers of moonlight streaking through small gaps in the metal.
"Rusted metal. Angled positions. Cargo netting. Jungle." She paused to think. "Am I in the wreckage of a cargo plane? Would fit the setting."
Tulip nestled into the netting, pointedly ignoring the way her backpack dug into her back, settling into the most comfortable position she could manage. A long breath escaped her lips.
"If I'm still even on the train."
A glance at her palm confirmed what she already knew. Her number was gone.
It wasn't simply at zero anymore. It no longer existed. It was gone. The train opened a portal for her. The portal led to her home. She stepped through it, and now she's here.
A terrifying thought clutched her mind. A freezing chill crept down her spine.
"This- this can't be Earth… right?"
A yawn escaped her lips, despite herself. Her eyelids grew heavy again. Exhaustion was taking hold, gripping onto her even tighter than before. Try as she might, the allure of sleep was too great to ignore. Perhaps mind-numbing, crippling dread could wait until morning…
A familiar, terrible roar jolted her awake. It was close. Too close. Great. One problem unsolved.
Already, she heard footsteps outside; slow, rhythmic, and growing louder. She heard breathing, heavy and ragged. It must be standing literally right outside now. The rusted carcass of the plane was the only thing between her and the beast. Running was out of the equation.
Tulip clamped her injured hand over her mouth, ignoring the pain, and wrapped the other in a death grip around the netting. She didn't dare twitch. Didn't dare to even breathe.
The cargo plane lurched. She bit back a scream. The beast had definitely struck the plane, but it didn't feel aggressive. Felt more like a curious nudge. It's searching for her. It had no idea she's in here. If she kept quiet long enough, it would eventually move on.
The beast nudged the plane again. Something somewhere on the plane broke apart and clattered down to the jungle floor. She heard the beast shift, sniffing the air and the ground. The beast shifted again, taking one step, then another, then another, then another, away from the plane carcass. Tulip let her eyes close and her tense muscles relax.
Until rapid, heavy footfalls returned like a lightning bolt
It wasn't leaving. It was rearing back.
A massive jolt upended the entire carcass, sending it crashing and rolling to the ground. Tulip would have been battered into a pulp inside if not for the arm she'd wrapped around the net. When the ride ended, she was left dangling by her right arm from the ceiling, but another sprain was better than a cracked skull. She quickly untangled her arm from the netting and let herself drop. She had a feeling the beast wasn't satisfied just yet.
And she was right. The ceiling suddenly warped inward with a ringing clang. It bent and snapped more and more, the clanging above continuing at a fevered pitch. The beast must be literally stomping its feet like a petulant child on top of the plane. Tulip spied a broken window in the dark. She wasted no time to dash and dive through it.
The plane was suspended higher up than she thought. She tried to land on her feet, but her angle was all wrong. She hit the ground on her side, on her left, worse arm. A cry of pain was ripped from her throat. The beast's tantrum came to an abrupt halt. For a beat, the jungle fell deathly silent.
Tulip didn't look back. Looking back meant losing precious milliseconds that could be the difference between life and death. She pushed her battered body to her feet and sprinted into the dark. The ground shook behind her. The rhythmic footfalls chased relentlessly after her. And she was back on square one.
"Get down!"
Tulip hit the dirt immediately. A split second passed before she questioned why she listened to the voice. Another split second passed before she questioned whose voice it was she listened to.
Something flew over her head. The distinct crack of wood breaking filled the air, followed by the beast crying in pain. A beat of silence, then a loud boom. When she dared to look, she saw the beast had been driven back, crumpled against the plane carcass, wheezing weakly, clearly in pain. What could possibly be responsible for doing that?
"Hey, dude!"
That same voice again. Tulip whipped her head around. Her eyes landed on a dark, humanoid shape standing across from her at the clearing's edge, a pair of blue pinpricks burning at its head.
"Don't just sit there! Run!"
Behind her, she heard the beast starting to rise. Tulip didn't need to be told twice.
She mustered every ounce of energy she had left and bolted. The shape leapt into the air, over her head. She heard the thud of sturdy feet against the dirt and the distinct schwing of steel.
"How's about you pick on someone your own size, buddy?!"
The beast roared.
Tulip wished she could be anywhere but here.
Tulip saw very little of the actual battle, but she heard plenty to keep her running. Battle cries, pained shrieks, the gnashing of teeth, the rip of steel cutting flesh, the splatter of liquid against wood and leaves. The glimpses she saw were worse - dark shapes shaking the earth, whole trees torn and uprooted, and sometimes, blinding flashes of blue that would illuminate the dark jungle.
No matter how far, how hard she ran, the sounds never disappeared into the distance. The beast must still be after her, even while being attacked by a third party. Why was this creature so fixated on her? This kind of behavior isn't natural. Any other animal would have given up at this point. What kind of monster is this thing?
A resounding boom, followed by a screech of pain. The beast must be dazed. Tulip banked a sharp left. Maybe she could shake off the beast while it's struggling. She got a few dozen feet before she skidded to a halt.
A cliff face. She ran directly into a cliff face.
Tulip spun on her heels. The beast was already there, bounding towards her like a rabid dog.
Her back was pressed against the rough stones. She sucked in a breath, and braced for the inevitable.
A dark shape soared into the air. The moonlight ringed the figure from behind like an angelic halo.
A blur of blue fell from the sky. A cloud of dust covered the earth.
When the dust cleared, Tulip gasped.
The beast was dead. A sword was plunged into the top of its head, the blade glowing a brilliant blue. A sword wielded by the hand of a young girl.
She must be around Tulip's age, maybe a little older. Brown skin, with wild, bushy brown hair to match, with sticks and dry leaves jutting out of the chaotic locks. Her clothes looked like it was some kind of uniform at one point, but the colors has degraded and the fabric frayed beyond recognition. A crude set of wooden armor was fitted over her shirt, not perfectly, but enough to be functional. But most striking of all was the fierce eyes boring into Tulip. They glowed blue - same as the blade in her hand.
The girl pulled out the sword from the beast with a wet schlop. Tulip must've flinched, because the girl's hardened visage disappeared, replaced with a guilty expression.
"Whoa! It's okay, dude." She made a calming motion with her free hand. Her eyes, and the blade, gradually lost their glow. "I'm cool. I'm a friend."
The girl slowly stepped down from the beast, making her movement as telegraphed and non-threatening as possible. Tulip appreciated the gesture, but she still watched her carefully. The girl fought this hulking monstrosity and won.
"Are you hurt?"
Tulip wanted to unravel right then and there. Spill everything about every cut, every ache that she had to endure. But she held back. "Just… bruises," she said instead. "I'll be fine."
The girl raised an eyebrow and gave her a once over. She's studying Tulip, and she's doing it well. "Um, hate to break it to ya, but you've got more than just bruises."
Tulip winced. Her adrenaline was subsiding, and the pain returned in force. So much pain. The girl made a humming noise, lips pursed in thought.
"We can patch you up at our shelter. You just sit tight for now, I'm gonna see if big ol' beastie here's got any edible parts." The girl poked the dead beast with her sword. "Shouldn't take too long."
Tulip nodded along. She needed the help. Something the girl said stuck out to her, though. "We?"
"Yeap." The girl plunged her sword into the beast again. Tulip couldn't stop herself from flinching again at the noise it made. "The two of us aren't the only ones stuck in this place."
Tulip perked up ever so slightly. Information. Very useful information. The girl left the blade stuck in the beast and wiped off her hands on her skirt. She turned, showing Tulip a friendly, sincere smile.
"Hey. What's your name?"
Tulip wasn't sure why she hesitated. The girl has been nothing but kind to her. A name wouldn't hurt, right? "Tulip. My name's Tulip."
Her smile grew. "Okay. Nice to meet you, Tulip."
The girl offered her hand for a handshake. Tulip glanced down. No numbers.
"I'm Anne."
Here we go.
This is a story that's been brewing in the back of my head for over a year at this point. Maybe longer? It definitely started around the time people were making the western isekai connections. And if you're familiar with my work with the MK, you know I love me a good crossover, especially when it involves more than two properties. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I originally wanted to have the first portion of the chase last a bit longer, show Tulip fending off the beast on her own before Anne swoops in to save the day. It ended up feeling a little repetitive? So I shortened that section. Tulip will have plenty of opportunities to show off what she's capable of later on.
Next chapter is coming as soon as possible, which actually won't be very soon. I've got a few other fics that are overdue to be worked on to completion. Until then!