.
Seeking Justice
Atticus stopped for a few seconds, looking at the wasteland while standing on the walkway between the two train cars. He snorted, shaking his head, then his gaze fell to the door that led to the next car.
Next and, probably, also the last car he was going to visit… if the symbol painted on the door, the red 'A' crossed with a sinusoid curve, was anything to go by.
For a week and a half, Atticus had travelled alone, traversing through the oddities of the various cars of the train. He had showed himself capable of defending himself from Ghom attacks, he had learned to open doors without opposable thumbs, and he was even willing to interrogate the unruliest of denizens. Essentially, he was ready for anything.
As he thought he should've been. He had a quest to fulfil.
Nobody laid a hand on his brethren, or even the loyal allies of Corginia, without answering to him, for as long as he was going to be in charge. And how could he ignore the complete disappearance of the special Corginian force he'd sent to assist the reign of Aloysius III?
Not to mention that along with them the entire kingdom of turtles had disappeared out of thin air, their car nowhere to be found. Atticus didn't know at first how to react to such news—disappearing cars?
He knew cars shifted, but since One-One was now the conductor, he believed that Corginia was truly safe for the time being from such an event, now that the conductor wasn't working against them. Cars shifting was an event that occurred rarely and usually with a reason under One-One's rule… but you never truly saw a car that was supposed to be fine basically blinking out of existence. Why did the car shift? And where did it go?
Atticus did not know at first how to answer to those questions… but a partial answer to the first one came when the one corgi who had managed to jump down the car right before it shot back down the train told him the full story.
After that, the king had few doubts left concerning who was responsible. Them…
Seeking the Apex had been his goal since his second departure from Corginia.
Even if now he had no companion to rely on, Atticus didn't hesitate as he took the decision to go, because he wasn't going to let his allies and fellow Corginians down. And if there wasn't anything, he could do… he would make sure to claim justice. No matter how difficult it would've been to find the Apex. No matter how hard it would've been to face this infamous gang of passengers, who had been terrorising denizens for years according to what he'd been told.
They needed to respond for their crimes, and it would take more than a few ragtag children to stop the King of Corginia!
Resolutely, Atticus marched up to the door, merely looking up at the dark sky for a second, always checking if Ghoms were stalking nearby. Then, he braced himself before jumping up along the door's front, using his frontal paws to push the handle down before he fell back. It was a rather tiring job for a dog as small as him, but it did the trick. And relative size had never deterred Atticus.
Hellish mechanical beasts many times larger than him were not able to scare him off. No… a door was not going to stop him.
The door opened towards the inside, letting Atticus have a first look into the Mall Car that served as the Apex Headquarters. No one in sight… for now.
The car may have appeared empty, but Atticus knew better. Given what information he'd collected during his trek, the Apex were not to be underestimated, and by frequently asking information about them as he travelled towards them, he already expected the gang to be likely aware of his arrival.
Atticus exposed his teeth as he cautiously walked forward. The door automatically closed behind him, leaving the corgi 'alone' in the lobby of the mall.
He waited for a few moments… but no one came out of the Mall's ruined shops to attack him.
If it was an ambush, it was a weird setup. Why leaving all the lights turned on, for starters? The mall was fully illuminated, showing no place for shadows useful for groups of waiting kids ready to tackle on Atticus, or even to hide most of the Mall's interior to him, since he didn't know its blueprint.
In fact, when he heard voices coming from the opposite part of the mall car, beyond the mobile staircase, he pretty much knew that the Apex hadn't been ready for him… at all.
Considering the stories that he'd listened to in the past days, he'd expected much worse from them.
In any case, that meant he now had the element of surprise and—
"Doggy?"
Atticus almost lost his crown as he made a step back in alarm. There was a child walking towards him; so entrapped he was in his thoughts, that he had completely missed the approaching figure. That child must've come from one of the side doors to the shops that were closed.
"Hey there. What are you doing here? Are you lost?" the young girl said, showing a smile to him. "You wanna… play?"
She was wearing a pink jacket and a safari hat, giving her a somewhat odd appearance. Atticus did not recognise her… but what he was most surprised by, was the lack of the Apex symbol on her face.
He remembered the Cat's words. 'When you'll see passengers with the red sinusoid curve painted on their face, it will mean you've found the Apex, Atticus. Be wary of them.'
The girl's face was clean, and in fact, she looked quite more concerned with trying to get him to play with her rather than actually antagonising him.
Dog instinct had the better of Atticus for a moment, but he recomposed himself quickly. He was on a critical mission, for crying out loud! He couldn't sympathise with everyone, not when he knew for sure this was the Apex's car!
He backed up more as the girl tried to get closer, a hand extended towards him. "Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you! I'm… I'm not… doing that…" she hesitated, puzzling Atticus even more, as if her own words had disturbed her.
She looked at the ground, hiding her face from Atticus' view. He tilted his head, wondering why her mood had suddenly turned around so quickly, only for him to almost jump back in surprise. The hat!
'APEX' was written on it still, in red colour. No sinusoid curve, but it didn't really leave space for interpretation.
Atticus barked angrily and braced, ready to pounce on the girl, who was surprised by the sudden open hostility.
"Hey, hey, wait! Calm down! I-I'm not…" the girl tried to say quickly. "Doggy, I'm not doing that ever a—"
"Cease this foolishness, Apex zealot!" Atticus shouted solemnly, much to the girl's surprise.
"Y-you can talk? Why didn't you talk before? I th-thought—"
"I am Atticus, King of the Cardigans and the Pembrokes, and ruler of Corginia. I have come here to demand an explanation for what happened to our faithful allies, the noble turtles who lived under the reign of Aloysius the Third, and to know of the whereabouts of the Corginian help force that was sent to aid them."
"…w-what?" the girl looked at Atticus with wide eyes, unable to come up with a reply, but Atticus wasn't going to let her have the benefit of the doubt, not after he had concrete evidence she was Apex. He walked forward, now taking the initiative, and the girl made a step back.
"W-wait! Calm down!" the girl opened her hands out. "We're not your enemy!"
"Are you lying to me?" Atticus growled. "I have travelled through a dozen train cars, and even more, meeting quite a few people who had clear memories of the Apex and what they did… what you did to them." The nerve of this child, playing dumb in front of him!
"I… w-we…" the girl kept walking back while she stammered, but Atticus kept advancing while getting closer, not giving her space. He was pushing her towards the wall of a ruined shop.
"Do you refuse to admit your responsibility?" Atticus said. "Do you expect me to believe you, Apex?"
"I…" the girl closed her eyes, then covered them with her hands. "No… I d-do not want to lie…"
"So, you did take part in what transpired," Atticus said. "Do you know what your actions have caused?"
"I-I do… And I'm s-sorry…"
Atticus relented for a second. Only one second. "Your excuses will not be enough to satisfy me, young one."
"I'm sorry, o-okay?!" the girl cried out, gripping her chest as she looked at him. Her eyes were already wet. "I-I didn't think it would hurt you! I thought… Grace, S-Sim… I don't know! I didn't want to… I... I'm sorry! I'm r-really sorry!"
Atticus showed his teeth, then barked again, too distracted by the new piece of information disclosed by her to pay attention the girl's aggravation.
Grace… and Simon, as he guessed the girl was going to say. The Cat had specifically warned him about them as well. "Where is the kingdom of Aloysius? Where are the Corginians? And where is the rest of the Apex?!" he shouted.
That ended up being the last straw.
"…G-Grace!" she ran to the side, away from him and towards the centre of the mall. Atticus tried to leap on her to pin her down, but she was too fast, and too small to grab.
"Grace, h-help!"
Atticus recomposed himself, then gave chase. The girl ran down the lobby, passing below the central bridge and then moving into the other side of the mall car, while Atticus got closer and closer.
Before he could get her, he was however forced to skid to a halt, as the girl literally flung herself into a group of children who were reunited around a campfire of sorts. Atticus couldn't quite see how the campfire in a mall had been built in the first place, as there were too many kids blocking his view.
Most of them were around the girl's age, with a few being younger or older. No one of them wore the Apex's symbol on their faces, but the red sinusoid and the crossed 'A' were visible on some rare pieces of headwear and clothes. He had no doubt these were followers of the Apex as well.
He probably would've announced himself yet again if it wasn't for the fact that the pause finally let him notice the girls' shrill crying.
Her appearance immediately got the attention of the other Apex children.
"What's going on?"
"What happened?"
"Hey, there's a dog! Who let it in?"
"Watch out! Don't get close, don't you see he's angry?!"
"Michelle, what happened? What did the dog do?"
The kids made multiple comments about the current situation, their voices overlapping each other, but when the name of the girl's was said, they stayed silent, all waiting for her to speak.
"I… where's Grace?" she managed to blurt out between the whimpers. "T-the dog… he said something about that turtle car w-we raided… I… I didn't k-know w-what to do, he's…"
She sobbed, unable to finish her sentence. Some of the kids approached her, patting her back, another girl even going as far as hugging her. Meanwhile, other kids put themselves between her and Atticus.
"What are you doing here?! Why did you make Michelle cry?" a boy accused him, a blond child wearing a black hat.
Atticus snorted. "Crying won't change the fact that you are guilty," he said. He sincerely didn't plan to go as far as pushing the girl to her limit, he had no idea these children could be scared that easily. The view he'd created for himself of the Apex was proving to be not as precise as he initially thought… but the reason why he was here, or what the Apex had done in the past, were not going to change because of this.
The girl, Michelle, had still admitted her role in the Apex. And now she'd just said something about the turtle car they raided.
Atticus braced himself and snarled. He was outnumbered, but he cared little of the odds. "I am Atticus, King of Corginia," he began again, briefly summarising his first presentation. "I have come to you to seek answers behind the disappearance of the allies of my kingdom, the turtles of Aloysius, and the Corginians who were there with them. And I will not stand down until I find the answers I seek!"
"The turtles? B-but, but we didn't have anything to do with them disappearing!" the same boy from before said.
"Your fellow cultist, Michelle, just said that you raided the car. Is that 'doing nothing' to you?" Atticus retorted.
The boy who had replied to him closed his mouth. He was scowling, but to Atticus he was also admitting his guilt. However, another child came forward from the wall of kids in front of the king. It was a girl wearing a peculiar black eyepatch and a striped sweater.
"We… we did things we regret now," she said. "But that's no-good reason to do that you did to her!" she agitated the broom she was brandishing. "Michelle didn't want to do any harm to you right now, and you scared her! You chased her!"
"She was part of the group of marauders who set fire to various train cars!" Atticus rebutted. "As all of you were… are!"
"We are not…" the girl closed her mouth, then frowned. "We aren't that… not anymore. And w-we didn't take your friends away. They disappeared after we visited the car…"
Atticus growled. "How do you expect me to believe you, Apex?" he said, affronted. "You admit you attacked Aloysius. And I know of how you assaulted them and my own subjects, how you tried to kidnap them!"
The children stood without moving, but some of them either frowned or looked away, unable to bear Atticus' judging gaze. A couple of them whimpered. "I know you have answers, Apex, and I won't retreat back to Corginia until you've shared the truth. That is final!"
Atticus barked again. The eyepatch girl raised her broom, and the more determined children also readied some makeshift weapons behind her. Apparently, they were not going to collaborate without a confrontation.
So be it! He was not going to stand down, not until he got what he came here for!
But the possible fight was averted when an intruder flew between Atticus and the Apex kids. A small origami bird, purple in colour, quietly hovering down until it landed on the ground. It made a small, yet distinguishable, chirping sound.
The event left Atticus at loss for words. That was a train car denizen! He knew that because he'd come into the Origami car in his recent travels as well. The birds were not talkative but were good company for the night he spent there. They were not the type to associate with the likes of the Apex.
Yet, if that was the case, why had the paper bird come in front of him, basically blocking his path? Why was it here of all places, even?
"Leave space!" Atticus uttered. "I won't let the disappearance of my subjects and allies go unpunished, and you will not stop me!"
He hoped to intimidate the paper bird this way, but the little thing simply chirped back, not moving one centimetre. Atticus growled at the kids, annoyed by the obstacle, but he didn't move. Corginia wasn't known for attacking unprovokedly, and he was not going to make an exception here. If the bird wanted to stop the fight… he would just have to accept it.
Regardless, he was not going to leave until he got the Apex to explain themselves, even if that wasn't going to happen with a battle.
"That is enough!"
The voice came from upwards. Atticus looked up, towards the bridge and the unactive escalators. There were a few other kids up there, but among them stood a girl that got his attention, as this one was much older than the other Apex kids, basically a young woman. Her clothing was immediately recognisable, as the Cat had described her upon his request.
"Grace Monroe…" Atticus growled. "One of the leaders of the Apex. We meet at last."
"You are not going to fight us," the girl claimed as she walked down the steps of the escalator, followed by the children behind her. "And we are not going to fight you, either."
"Why do you refuse to tell me the truth, then?" Atticus questioned. "Your zealots have yet to do so with me."
"They are not zealots!" Grace shouted suddenly. Then, she recomposed herself. "They are free to come and go now. They don't follow me, dog."
Atticus narrowed his eyes at Grace as she came down the unmoving escalator and walked up to him. The Apex kids downstairs by now had already retreated into a single group, centred around the girl who had the misfortune of meeting Atticus by herself, while the ones following Grace followed her like bodyguards. Regardless, Atticus' full attention was on the Apex leader.
"It doesn't matter how the Apex works, or how you handle your subjects. I, Atticus, am here to seek answers, Grace. And after what you did… you have much to make up for."
Grace grimaced. "That… is true. And… we are trying."
It occurred to Atticus that it wasn't just some minor details that didn't work in his idea of the Apex. Most of his expectations were slowing being thwarted as he interacted with them, but Grace's rueful tone was possibly the most glaring inaccuracy of the description he had in mind.
He relaxed his muscles as he kept his eyes on her, still wary of the Apex leader. "What happened to Aloysius?"
"The turtles?" Grace scowled. "They… we don't know what became of them. The car… shifted away."
"Cars never shift without One-One's approval, not far enough to basically disappear," Atticus noted.
"It wasn't One-One who did that… at least, I guess he didn't do so himself."
Atticus' wariness gave space to confusion. "I don't follow."
Grace sighed. "It's a long story…"
"Atticus, I suppose you are not going to change your idea, but I must stress you to reconsider. There must be a good reason behind the disappearance of your own friends. Wouldn't you mind waiting for One-One to pay a visit to Corginia? I already know he sometimes stops by every now and then. He does the same with me… my, I think the little bot is mostly doing that to just keep an eye on me."
"He does that rarely. My allies and subjects may not have that much time."
"You can't really know that now, do you?"
"That's the main point why time is of the essence. I will not wait based on pure chance. Now, if you will excuse me, Cat…"
"Wait, Atticus! The Apex… this is not just about what they did in the past. I… I met Simon and Grace together, some time ago."
"You did?"
"Yes… and after they left, Simon came to me again. He was flustered, confused, even scared… he asked for my help, and I assisted him. But… I regret that I may have triggered a chain reaction inadvertently. The Apex that you'll find in the mall car… it may not be the same Apex I remember."
"…it matters little. I am ready for whatever the Apex may throw at me, Cat. No matter what they do, they will not stop me from finding the truth and either saving our turtle allies and my missing subjects. Even if… they've become worse that what I heard."
"I… understand."
"Why are you telling me this, Cat, if you decided to help the Apex yourself?"
"I didn't help the Apex, I helped Simon! …it was something I had to do. To fix my own mistakes, perhaps… or to feel better. But now, I'm not really sure if it was a good choice to begin with… or if I should've even done it in the first place. I advise you, Atticus… stay vigilant."
From what the Cat had said to him, Atticus had expected the Apex to be a chaotic gang of annoying children at best or a terrifying pack of bloodthirsty marauders at worst, and he was prepared for either.
He wasn't prepared for… this. To be sitting beside the supposed Leader of the Apex, the sinusoid symbol absent from her face, as she looked down in shame after having told him about what happened in the 'unfinished' car. Waiting for him to reply.
And what could he say?
According to her tale, the Apex had indeed caused chaos and ruckus in the car that was home to Aloysius and his turtles, antagonising both his allies and the Corginians of the response force who lived there. But they had no role in their disappearance.
In fact, Grace had told him about the problem of cars shifting and how she and her followers were taken aback as much as the inhabitants of the car themselves when it started moving. She was separated from the Apex at that time, and she had to travel for a few days to get back to the mall car.
He started to believe her as soon as she mentioned Amelia. Grace's description fit to a 't' what he knew of the old 'Conductor' who had turned him into a monster, the woman who had been defeated against all odds by a young redheaded girl some time ago. One-One had to do a little bit of convincing to push Amelia into accepting to work for him, and Atticus growls had helped in making her mind up… well, he liked to think so at least.
In any case, the grumpy woman described by Grace was basically the same as his own memories of Amelia, once she was out of her hellish Conductor suit.
Atticus didn't exactly think that he was friends with her—she did try to Ghomify him without mercy… but at least, he knew that she really wanted to keep working for One-One to fix things up, from what he remembered of her before One-One sent him back to Corginia. Grace's words concerning her were, thus, the confirmation he needed. She was most likely telling the truth.
Atticus stayed silent for a while longer as he thought over what he got from her. There were still some parts of Grace's story that he didn't quite get, still. Amelia appeared in her tale quite randomly, almost out of nowhere, and he knew the woman wasn't the type for random encounters. If she had interacted with Grace, it was for a reason. And that could mean that she hadn't told him everything.
He observed Grace, still gloomily keeping her eyes fixed on the floor. She sat on the last step of the frozen escalator in silence; she didn't have any intention to speak up before him apparently. They were alone, as the Apex kids stood or sat in the distance, though they still inquisitively looked at them—trying to overhear their conversation most likely. They looked worried.
Was this really the same Apex gang that he had been told about?
He'd listened to stories telling how ruthless they were, taking what they wanted from all train cars that were unfortunate enough to be chosen for a raid… no matter the cost for the inhabitants. Most of the car denizens were able to recover from the Apex attacks, but some were not so lucky.
That was the case for the music theatre car he'd encountered earlier that day, the one that had put him on the edge perhaps more than any other place. A ruined wreckage of a once great set of impressive musical plays. Only one denizen remained, a saddened double-faced mask, who told him everything… still in rhyme, still true to what they did best, despite everything.
No… he needed to make sure. For the sake of the people he'd met along the way, he needed to be utterly certain that Grace was not putting up an act or lying to him, and that the Apex had changed their ways.
And the first test was understanding what she was hiding from him, and why.
"I believe your words, Grace Monroe," Atticus started. Grace didn't give out any sign that told him she wanted to reply, so he kept talking.
"But… I can't force myself to accept everything that you said as a fact, or better put, to take it as it is. I feel like you've been avoiding details, details that may help me in seeking where my people have ended up. You said Amelia told you that she was looking for the reason why cars were ejecting. When she left you, was it because the two of you found what the cause was?"
Grace didn't answer. Instead, she slightly tilted her head around, hiding her face.
"Grace. What was the cause of the cars shifting away? Did Amelia tell you where they went?" Atticus pressed on, walking around her to look at her face.
"She… d-did not… tell me anything about where they went," Grace choked out.
"You haven't told me if you found out why, yet. I know Amelia… for better or worse. She wouldn't have shared these details with you if she thought you didn't play a role in it."
Grace, once again, made use of her right to remain silent. But Atticus didn't let her be.
"Another thing I don't quite grasp in this situation…" he looked around for a moment. "I met the Cat along the way."
"You met her?" Grace managed to whisper, still trying to avoid Atticus' gaze.
"Yes, and she said plenty of things about you and the Apex, she warned me… but the Cat is known as a shady feline, and to be honest it's bad enough that she's a feline in the first place. As much as I don't fully believe her either, what she shared with me doesn't quite correspond with what you told me… the most important omission being that she warned me about two Apex leaders."
Grace this time couldn't hold the gulp. She pressed a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. When she looked at him, Atticus was glaring at her.
"Where is Simon Laurent, Grace? Why isn't he here? Does he have anything to do with Amelia and the shifting cars?"
Grace stood up without a word, her face contorted with something in-between an angry frown and a downcast look. She let out a breath and took a few steps away from Atticus as she gripped her own air.
Atticus followed her like a wolf trailing the poor lone sheep who lost her herd. By now he was sure that Grace had not indeed told him everything.
"I have promised my people that I was going to find our missing brethren no matter the cost, Grace. And if you are refusing to tell me whatever information may be valuable to find them, I'll have to keep requesting you to share those details. I need to know, I must know!"
"W-why… why do you think you have the right to know about it?!" Grace hastily turned around. In that moment, Atticus realised that maybe he had gone too far, since Grace's eyes were red and her cheeks were wet. Her frown was intimidating to say the least as she glared at Atticus, but he had not expected her to shed tears at all.
He still stood his ground.
"My people, of course, as well as the turtles who I was able to call friends. My search won't stop until I know where they are… or know how to find them, and save them."
"One-One will know! You just have to wait for him, right?!" Grace shouted. "Why don't you go back to your car and just wait for him to come back, he knows for sure since Amelia works for him!"
"I have no way to tell this was One-One's doing… and as long as you withhold information from me, I will never be able to do so, Grace," Atticus rebutted.
"I-I… what if I don't want to tell you, then?" Grace growled.
"I'll keep asking… and if you keep refusing, I'll find out anyway."
Grace glared at him for a few long seconds… then, she let out a choked-out sound.
"S-Simon is dead."
Atticus' determination crumbled after that statement.
"He's gone. Is that what you wanted? Does that make you happy? No, of course it doesn't, because it doesn't change anything about your missing friends. That would be stupid of me!"
She gritted her teeth and passed a hand over her face and hair. "Of course, you don't care about him! You hated him and he hated you, as he hated everyone like you! He… he…"
She let out a sob. "S-Simon… I-I'm sorry… I didn't w-want to… but H-Hazel…" her rambling stopped as she cried.
Atticus was petrified by the reaction of the Apex leader. By now, the last remaining doubts concerning the current state of the Apex had been disproved: whatever the old Apex used to be, this wasn't it, even if he still didn't know how that happened in the first place.
He didn't even realise at first that the children had come closer. A couple took Grace by her hand and tried to pull her away from Atticus, while others glared at him with scolding looks. Atticus looked back at them, recognising his mistake, but without bowing in shame. Whether the Apex had changed or not… it didn't change what they did in the past.
But Grace resisted the pull from the kids, whispering something to them that Atticus didn't get. The two that were trying to lead her away from him, a girl with a bandana and another boy, didn't let go of her hands, but they stopped pulling as she turned around to regard Atticus.
"I'm sorry… but this is hard for me t-to talk about."
Atticus nodded.
"You deserve to know more about it still. I-It'll take a bit more time for me to do so."
Atticus sat down. "I am listening."
"Okay… Do you know about what the Conductor—I mean, Amelia, did when she was the Conductor?
Atticus knew about it. He knew about Amelia's tragic tale thanks to One-One filling him in during one of his visits, as Tulip never had the time to do so herself before she left the train.
He knew that her experiments were the reason why cars such as the turtle kingdom's one existed.
But… the fact that somebody like Hazel existed… it was downright astonishing. He listened attentively as Grace talked, sometimes smiling weakly at the memory, often barely containing the tears. She told him the story of the little girl who had managed to turn her entire way of viewing life in the train upside down. Of how tragedy had struck Hazel, and how that had sealed the link between the two of them… only to see that bond abruptly cut later on.
She explained how Hazel was really a turtle denizen resembling a human, and how Amelia later realised that she was most likely the cause, or a major cause, of the issue with the ejecting cars. She explained how Amelia believed that Hazel was a product of her attempts at making the impossible heaven she originally wanted as the Conductor, and that she needed her to get to the bottom of the shifting issue. She explained how Hazel herself had volunteered to follow her… and how Grace's attempts at convincing her otherwise had failed.
She seldom mentioned Simon… and he didn't press the matter. He could guess, based on the Cat's accounts concerning their relationship and Grace's earlier confession, that it was best not to insist. In any case, with Hazel's inclusion the story finally made enough sense for him.
"So… Hazel and Amelia left on an ejecting car that she purposely let go in order to transport them away. Is that it?"
"Yeah…"
Atticus nodded. "I understand… that means that they were most likely heading for wherever the other ejected cars are. Including the one where Aloysius and the Corginians were trapped in."
He took in a breath, then let out a snort. "My search… was not fruitless. Yet, I'm afraid that it has indeed come to an end without concrete results. I may have to follow your advice after all, Grace, and wait for One-One. The Engine and the back of the train are way too far from Corginia to reach on foot… so I'll have to wait for him to explain himself."
Grace nodded. She and Atticus were now surrounded by the other kids, who had refused to leave them alone after what had happened earlier between them. The two children from earlier were still holding her by her hands comfortingly while she sat on the escalator's step, while the others stood or sat around her and Atticus. By now, he did not feel threatened by their presence anymore, though.
He was not stupid… he could see that these children had changed their ways similarly to how Grace did.
"I now realise that I made some mistakes when coming here." Atticus closed his eyes as he stood up respectfully. "I am sorry for my earlier behaviour, I truly am… I hope you'll understand my motivations for why I decided to be wary of you… of all of you."
"We do…" Grace grunted. A few of the kids nodded in agreement.
"Still, you do deserve the apology. Now that we cleared our misunderstandings, I hope we'll be able to depart on better terms than those of our first meeting."
Grace looked at him thoughtfully. "I… guess we could try."
"And… you have my condolences."
After that… silence.
A flock of origami birds flew down among them, a required distraction to lighten the mood. One landed on Grace's shoulder while others decided to place themselves among (and over) the kids. One of them, the purple bird who had prevented a fight earlier in fact, unceremoniously landed on Atticus' snout, and he snorted in order to shoo it away. One of the kids chuckled, and Atticus scoffed as his regal reputation felt slightly hit by the event.
"You know… Hazel helped me see things in a different way, Atticus. And I-I'm still not sure if I can do anything about how things went in all these years. If we can… fix what we did."
Atticus tilted his head as Grace intertwined her fingers. "I would like to try, at the very least… but it doesn't seem like there's a proper way to do it. I just…" she extended an arm, showing her hand. Glowing eerily, the green number showed Atticus a number of digits much higher than the one usually found on your standard passenger.
He felt a shiver run down his spine at the sight. Grace's number was just the obvious consequence of what he'd been told she and the Apex had done. Yet, to have numbers that high, you really had to mess things up… as Amelia herself had showed.
He shook his head, then looked at Grace first, and the children around them later. Some of the young boys and girls were uneasy, suddenly finding interest in their own numbers while confabulating with a low tone with each other. Atticus then saw some digits on their hands.
221.
78.
156.
292.
351.
Relatively high numbers, indeed… but not as high as Grace's. That gave him an idea.
"…there is always a way out, Grace Monroe."
She looked at the dog. Her eyes told him that she wasn't convinced by his remark.
"Understanding the wrong of what you did… is already a step in the right direction. That is not something that anyone can take away from you, and having considered the story you've told me… I'm willing to believe that you didn't lie to me, and that you truly have realised the wrong of your ways."
"How can I fix them, though?" Grace inquired.
"Not all the consequences of what we've done in the past can be amended. All we can do in the present is to move forward and do what we can to not repeat those mistakes. Stopping to attack the train cars is good, yes… but whether you can move to the next step, is up to you."
Her gaze fell down, again. Atticus could only wonder what went on in her head, but considering how she sniffed, he guessed they weren't positive thoughts.
"I believe my presence here has run its course," Atticus proclaimed. "I'll make sure to talk with everyone I'll run into during my return travel to let them know that the Apex is no more the old gang they used to be."
"We are not the Apex anymore!" a kid interjected.
Atticus looked at the boy who had spoken, expecting him to actually say why, but the child simply flushed and looked away.
"He means that we won't be using that name… not anymore," Grace elaborated. "We've stopped being them for a while."
"Do you?" Atticus looked thoughtfully at a child who was wearing a face mask with a red 'A' on it. The kid immediately tried to hide it with his mask when he realised he was being looked at.
"Let's just say that some of us have yet to find alternative clothes and that we can't remove these last few symbols…" Grace sighed. "It doesn't matter. We still are not the Apex. That group doesn't exist anymore, Atticus."
"Then, what's your current name?"
She shrugged, as she stood up. "We are still figuring that out. I'm not sure we need one either…"
Atticus nodded. "Then, I'll tell them that the Apex is no more."
Grace smiled weakly. "Atticus… thank you for giving us the chance to explain ourselves."
"I still have my doubts, Grace, I'll be honest with you," Atticus noted. Then, he looked around again, passing his eyes over each of the kids who stood around him. "But I look at all of you… and I can't see the cult I have been told about. Maybe you used to be them… but now you have the chance to be something different. Something better."
He suddenly recognised one of the kids, and decided to walk up to the girl, who flinched upon realising the dog's focus was on her. As she quickly turned her hat around to hide the writing on it that had caused Atticus' previous change of attitude, he concluded, "And as I said… not all mistakes can be fixed. But you can still try to do so."
He walked until he was right before her before sitting down. The girl needed a few moments to understand that the dog was not going to try to jump on her to bite her neck right there and now.
"…doggy?" she let out.
"Please, call me Atticus," he replied. "Also, sorry for my previous rude behaviour, Michelle the Explorer."
"T-The what?"
"Hopefully you will accept this as a sign of my apology," Atticus went on, then moved up a paw.
Michelle was quite confused, but Atticus simply tilted his head and added in a very small but convincing whine. Reluctantly, she approached him with her own hand, and took his paw.
"T-thank you?" she said, unsure whether she was doing it right or wrong.
"It's a sign typical of my home, Corginia," he explained. "We offer our paw as a way to show we want peace with a party we previously believed to be our enemy, or had a contention with. Works perfectly between Corgis, but I understand that among passengers it may not be as effective."
Michelle chuckled. "You're funny…"
"I am?" Atticus said in alarm. "That is no good for a king!"
Michelle's laughter got louder, and with her fear already forgotten, she proceeded to caress his head. Atticus simply started waggling his tail as a way to show he didn't mind.
"You are still a dog, after all…" Grace's unimpressed voice came from behind him.
"I am a king, but I'd be a debatable one if I were to deny my own kind," Atticus simply retorted. He licked over Michelle's hand, who retracted it while still laughing. Then, he bowed before turning around. "But my time to go has come. I have to get back to Corginia before One-One decides to return for a visit, after all."
He walked away, much to the disappointment of not just Michelle but also some of the other kids who wanted to pet the dog, but Grace shook a finger, showing them that it was better to let him go.
The group accompanied Atticus up to the door from which he'd come from. Before Grace could ask a kid to help him, he opened it by himself, using the same technique he'd used to come in, impressing a few of the ex-Apex members.
"Grace Monroe… Michelle… and every single one of you, who I had not the chance to meet," Atticus said to them all. "I once met a passenger like you, one that with time became a true friend of mine as we overcame all odds and bested our common foe. I still think about her, recalling the good days with a mutual friend of us… One-One."
The kids murmured about each other, while Grace stayed silent.
"I wanted to say that every one of you started out just like her. And like her, you will have the chance to face your own issues, until you're granted your exit to leave the train and go back home. I truly hope that you will all sort them out and leave behind you whatever the Apex used to be."
He eyed Grace. "No matter what mistakes you committed in the past… you are now on the right track to be better."
Grace nodded, and after that Atticus moved beyond the door. He decided not to turn around for a last-minute wave, so he heard the door sliding shut behind him.
He was alone on the bridge leading back to the previous car, once again. As he checked the sky once again for flying monsters, he considered how his plans had changed due to his encounter with the passengers that used to be the Apex.
The return trip would take more than a week, but at least he didn't have to keep his eyes open all the time, wary of a possible attack from the Apex at any moment.
He still didn't know the whereabouts of the Corginian help force and the turtle kingdom, and he still needed to be home fast… but at least, there was no more a hidden enemy to face.
As he made his way up to the next door, he thought about the young people he had just met. Despite her reputation, he couldn't think of Grace as a complete enemy, not after the words they had exchange, the story she'd told him, and how she seemed willing to make amends. If the Conductor was able to at least try to do so, why shouldn't she?
The same was valid for all the children that he encountered in the mall as well, despite whatever had transpired before his arrival. Perhaps Grace, as the leader, was also responsible for leading them towards the path of the Apex… but if she was still there with them and they were still there with her, it had to mean that now she was helping them to right their own wrongs as well. An actual way to fix her own mistakes, in a way.
The key was grasping the chance when it was there, within range…
Getting the push was just the start, after all.
END