Author's Note: Now, I originally planned on introducing Hazel and Tuba this chapter, but there wasn't enough time for me and this chapter was long enough already, so I decided to hold it off for one more chapter. Next time, they'll come out for sure.
Enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.
"THAT WAS CRAZY! TOTALLY CRAZY!" Gleek freaked out while pacing frantically with all the passengers surrounding him. "Who was that?! What did he want?! Where did he come from?!"
"Could you stop?" Simon asked irritated.
"Hey, he's asking the right questions, man." Wally said. "That Savitar guy—or whatever he calls himself—just appeared out of nowhere. I've never seen anyone that fast."
"Look, it's obvious where he came from. He told us himself. One-One sent him to kill us." Simon said. "I bet he's responsible for that surprise shifter too."
"One-One?" Wally asked. "You mean the Conductor?"
"The False Conductor." Grace pointed out.
"You people aren't making any sense." Wally said.
Jinx rubbed her chin while looking at Wally. "How long have you been on the Train?"
"I dunno. An hour maybe." Wally said.
"Ah. Then I see your confusion." Grace said. "Tell me, Wally, how much do you know about the Train?"
"It's a strange vehicle with different bizarre environments in each car. It's meant to help passengers with issues they're having on Earth and takes them on a journey on self-improvement. It's like a big therapy machine."
Simon scoffed. "You seriously buy that?"
"Well, of course." Wally said. "What else is it?"
"Did anyone ever tell you you're cute when you're naïve?" Jinx asked. "Here's the real truth: the Train is no therapy machine. It's a right for all of us to have a second life free of consequences."
"Is that why you all think it's okay to harass innocent turtles?" Gleek asked.
"Oh, they're just nulls. They don't matter." Jinx said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gleek asked in an offended tone. "What are nulls?"
"Nulls. As in, nothing. Not even a zero." Grace said. She removed her right glove to show her long number which covered her hand and forearm. The sight of it made Wally and Gleek's eyes widen. "You see these numbers? Passengers have these because they are the only ones who matter. If you don't have one, you might as well not even be a real person."
Wally grew even more nervous as he wrapped his left hand around his right. He had no idea how they would react if they knew he didn't have a number. "So why are your numbers so high?"
"Duh. Because numbers are power." Simon said. "The higher your number, the more powerful you are. Here, let's see what you're at?" He reached over to Wally's right hand.
"No!" Wally shouted pulling his hand away. "Uh, I mean, no thank you. I… don't exactly feel comfortable about my number."
Jinx let out a playful laugh. "I don't think I've ever heard of someone who's number-shy."
"Well, it looks like it doesn't matter anyway, because we're not staying." Gleek called out. "All of you, thinking it's okay to vandalize cars for the fun of it. Wally and I surely don't need your company. Let's go, buddy." He turned to walk away deeper into the jungle, but he only took a few steps before Wally stopped him.
"We can't."
"I'm sorry?" Gleek asked.
"You heard Savitar. He said he'd kill us if we separated."
"Dude, you're seriously going along with this?" Gleek asked. "Come on. I've seen you run. You're faster than the Train. You can't let this Savitar guy scare you into staying."
Certain words of that made Jinx's eyes pop. She fixed her pink eyes on Wally and smiled mischievously. A plan began to form in her head.
"Look, it's not like I want to join the Children of the Corn." Wally said. "I'm just saying, right now, something about us together is preventing Savitar from attacking us." He turned around to face everyone. "The five of us need to stay together to make sure he doesn't come after us."
"I'd rather be gutted than stay with them." Gleek pointed over at Simon, who leaned in closer threateningly.
"That can be arranged."
"Okay, Simon. That's enough." Grace said pulling her friend away. "Apex meeting. Huddle up." She waited until Simon and Jinx joined her side by side. They took a knee before she went on. "As much as I hate to say it, I think that guy's right."
"What?" Simon asked.
"That metal guy called each of us by name, including that monkey." Grace said. "If he is an agent of the False Conductor, we can't take any chances."
"Besides, working with Wally could be the best thing that's ever happened to the Apex." Jinx said.
"What?" Simon asked. He and Grace looked at their pink-haired companion in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?" Grace asked.
"You heard the null. Wally is said to be faster than the Train. If that's true, this is just the break we've been looking for." Jinx said. "Think about it. We've been trying to reach the False Conductor for ages, but we've never even gotten close. There's always at least hundreds of different cars between us and him, and we usually had to resupply back at the Mall Car. If Wally can outrun the Train, he can just run along its side without having to go through all the cars. He can reach the Engine in no time."
Grace then shared Jinx's smile. "Ah. I see what you're saying. If we can make Wally sympathetic to our cause and recruit him…"
It was then Simon's turn to smile. "He can help us get to the False Conductor easily and we can smash him. This might just be a blessing in disguise."
"Okay, but let's not try to force this onto him." Grace said. "This has to be his decision or he might not go through with it."
"Leave it to me then." Jinx smirked. "I can help him see things our way."
While the three were talking, Wally had his own secret meeting with Gleek. "Gleek, there's something I have to tell you."
"What, that you're getting bad vibes from these chumps?" Gleek asked. "So do I."
"No. Not that. Well, I do, but that's beside the point." Wally said. "Listen. I've seen Savitar before."
Gleek widened his eyes. "What? You know him?"
"Well, not really well." Wally said. "When I accidentally ran into the Speed Force, he showed up and knocked me into this world. He's the one who got me on this train to begin with."
"Why didn't you say so before?" Gleek asked.
"How could I say anything without explaining to those three that I'm not supposed to be here? You heard them. Anything without a number is considered not a person to them. And as much as I'd like to ditch them, it's too dangerous to leave them. And I don't think they'd be very reasonable if they learn how I really got here. So to protect all five of us, let's keep this to ourselves. Okay?"
Gleek sighed. "Okay."
After both meetings were done, everyone turned back to face each other.
"All right, boys." Grace said. "We talked it over, and we believe we can handle your company. Just until we can get back to the Mall Car."
"The Mall Car?" Wally asked.
"That's the official home base of the Apex." Simon said. He reached into his pack and pulled out a circular device with a knob at the top of a green, grid-like screen at its front. "Good news: the number tracker just located them. Bad news: we're forty-seven cars away."
"Number tracker?" Wally asked.
"Yes. It's a little device that I made myself." Simon said. "It scans the train for nearby passengers by their numbers. Though, it doesn't appear to detect you for some reason."
Wally coughed nervously. "Uh, yeah. I'm sure there's a perfectly rational explanation for that. So your 'home base' is forty-seven cars away?"
"Yep. In that direction." Simon pointed at the far side of the jungle.
"Well, it is on the way to the Engine." Gleek said. "Fine. But the second they try stabbing us in the back, I'm pushing them off the Train myself."
"So what now?" Wally asked.
"First, we need to check our supplies." Simon said. "This is gonna be hard to ration between the four of us."
"Ahem." Gleek cleared his throat dramatically.
Simon groaned. "Fine. Five of us. Happy?"
"I'm not unhappy." Gleek replied.
"Why don't I talk with Wally and Gleek here while you two work on the rations?" Jinx asked.
"Sounds good, Jinx." Grace said.
"This way." Jinx lead Wally and Gleek away from Grace and Simon until they were out of earshot. "First of all, sorry about Simon. He can get pretty emotional at times."
"I noticed." Wally said. "By the way, Grace said something about a 'False Conductor'. What does that mean?"
"She's talking about One-One." Jinx said. "You see, that silly little video that everyone wakes up to nowadays… Yeah, we didn't get that. We didn't wake up in a pod with a video playing telling us to get our number down. All that changed after One-One took over the Train."
"I don't get it." Wally said.
"Allow me to explain." Jinx said. "Back in the day, the Train had a different conductor. I've never seen him, but Grace did. She described him as a very large figure with the highest number she's ever seen."
"A number?" Wally asked. "You sure he was a conductor and not just another passenger?"
"Grace swore to it. She saw the very car she was in bend to his will." Jinx said. "He even saved her life from a mechanical monster that he then tamed." Jinx pointed at her face and traced her finger along the red line that wiggled across her face. "This mark here is our tribute to him. He had the same mark on his own face."
"Wait. That's who you worship?" Gleek asked with widening eyes. "Lady, that's no conductor! That's a destroyer! He went from car to car tearing things apart, ripping out the best parts of each world! I know because I tried to stop him alongside…" He suddenly stopped talking and lowered his head.
"Alongside who?" Wally asked curiously.
"It's, uh… It's a long story." Gleek said.
"See? Nulls tend to get confusing at times. That's one reason why the Apex doesn't trust them." Jinx said.
"What does this have to do with One-One?" Wally asked.
"Well, some time ago, the Train began to change. Suddenly, passengers were now brought in with videos from this weird, spherical robot who claims to be Conductor. He began telling everyone that they need to lower their numbers in order to go home, but we knew better. It didn't take long before we realized the truth: One-One somehow overthrew the True Conductor and took all of his powers. So now, it's the Apex's duty to carry on the True Conductor's will, and hopefully, one day, we can liberate him from One-One and restore the Train to its former glory."
"I… see." Wally said.
Jinx shrugged. "You can believe me or not. I don't really care. But if you stick around the train with us long enough, you'll see things our way. Come on. Grace and Simon should be ready to move out by now."
"Okay." Wally said.
Gleek followed Wally and Jinx back to Grace and Simon, but there was a heavy weight on his head. "This is going to be harder than I thought. But no matter what, I have to help Wally. I need to see if he can return to Earth. It may be my only chance to fulfill my promise."