Train to Quoro - 11/03 5:15 pm 51EE

The carriage was rather empty, the thin passage between the seat's isles was only traversed by attendants and conductors dressed in black coats and a faded blue dress shirt beneath. Rina sat by a window observing passing fields and hills. The greenery dulled the further down the track they went with large pastures of yellow wheat taking over her sightseeing. Eliowen fidgeted on the stiff fabric-covered seat, the backrest was too upright as well causing him to be uncomfortable no matter how he sat. The carriage had many metal racks above the seats where people would put their belongings however Rina used it to keep her babies out of her hands while they travelled. Crux was peering around at the finer details of the train, the copper-coloured wood used as scaffolding for a cream-coloured wood with bronze bolts and hinges used to hold it all together.

The aroma of coffee floated through the air and enticed Yuro. He stuck his hand out and waved down an attendant.

"Excuse me! Could I please have a double espresso? The air of coffee bumbling around us has brought my liver to a drought."

Yuro softly chuckled.

The attendant walked over holding an empty tin tray which she put beneath her armpit. When she saw Yuro she looked horrified as she stared at him.

"Did that baby just... uh..."

She backed away slightly, her eyes wide.

Crux interjected with a wide grin.

"Oh, could I have a hot chocolate as well!"

The attendant hesitantly nodded.

"Um, sure. But I don't think a baby should be requesting for that much coffee. Let alone speaking so... fluently."

Crux looked down at Yuro.

"Nah, don't worry about it. He's actually a 70-year-old man trapped in a baby's body!"

Crux had a big smile as the attendant went to say something but stopped herself.

The attendant looked down in defeat.

"That's one hot chocolate and one double espresso?"

Crux nodded and held out a thumbs up.

"Yes ma'am!"

The attendant walked off.

"You would have thought that 70-year-old babies wouldn't be so strange by now. I mean most babies turn 70 eventually."

Eliowen looked up.

"But most babies can't speak in sophisticated English."

Crux took a second to think.

"But Yuro can!"

Eliowen gave a sigh of defeat.

"Cause he's 70..."

Yuro shook his head.

"You scoundrels! These wild assumptions about my age are complete rubbish! I've never told any of you my age!"

Crux smiled.

"Is baby mad?"

He gave a teasing giggle.

Yuro glared demonically at Crux.

"Quiet! My physical age may be that of a toddler but my mental age far surpasses anyone on this train!"

Eliowen leaned closer.

"So then how old are you?"

Yuro didn't say anything for a few seconds. His forehead wrinkled as he was thinking hard.

"Well..."

Yuro gulped.

"Age is but a number used to limit my capabilities! No matter what age I am I'm the finest I could ever be! Being old isn't a barrier I have to worry about so why should I care!"

A bead of sweat ran down Eliowen's face.

"Uh, touchy subject?"

Crux laughed.

"So wait... are you OLDER than 70!?"

Yuro snapped and began to slap Crux.

"CAN YOU SHUT UP!"

Eliowen leans back.

"Though I do wonder, why are you a baby?"

Yuro stopped hitting Crux.

"Hm? Why am I in a baby's body?"

Yuro sat down.

"It has to do with my Strand ability. If I put a piece of my hair in another living thing then my consciousness will be swapped with them. The downside is I can only swap with things that are dumber than the body I inhabit. It's humiliating to say but around 11 years ago I accidentally swapped bodies with a baby, before I could swap back however the baby dived off a cliff with my body meaning I could never swap back. Now that I'm a baby I can't swap out since I need to swap with something dumber than a baby. You wouldn't believe how hard that is..."

Crux burst out laughing.

"BWAHAHA! THAT'S THE FUNNIEST STORY I'VE EVER HEARD!"

Crux fell to the floor laughing as he clutched his stomach.

Eliowen let out a little giggle.

"It wasn't the answer I was expecting."

Yuro held his head low.

"I know. Laugh it up. Everyone always laughs."

Amidst the laughing, Rina perked her head up as they left the wheat fields. A sprawling green field laid out before them. Trees dotted around scarcely and cows grazing the land. The main eye-catcher to everyone was the colossal tower sitting amongst everything, it rose high, beyond the clouds. It was ash brown and entirely made from metal, with long winding pips wrapping around the whole structure. Sections were broken off, exposing the dark circuits and wires beneath, other sections were detached from the tower and floated around it creating a truly fantastical sight. The antenna poking out from the top blinked a multitude of colours as the size of the tower dwarfed the distant mountains.

Crux got up and looked out of the window with a shimmer in his eyes.

"A Column! Wow, I forgot about these things. Been a while since I've been on the ground but this hasn't changed in the slightest."

Eliowen seemed confused.

"A Column? What are you talking about?"

Crux sprung up.

"You don't know!? Well my good boy, allow me to explain these testaments to pure innovation."

Crux sat down.

"Columns are these absolute gargantuan towers dotted around the northern half of the Central Continent. On the surface, they act as entry points to the Undercity and also giant vacuums that suck out all toxic or harmful gasses produced in the Undercity and filter in oxygen instead. In the Undercity they act as pillars as well, supports so that the ceiling doesn't cave in. Over time their uses have expanded however, they are used as giant internet towers and wind farms now! Last time I was on the surface I heard they were thinking of using them for faster methods of travel by connecting bullet trains to them."

Eliowen seemed amazed.

"Wow, I've never seen one before. How big are they?"

Crux stood up.

"Oh man, they're HUGE! It's impossible to get the true size right but they're really tall and really wide, providing a bunch of room inside for all sorts of things! They also use magnets to create these floating sections that look INSANE! I believe the magnet technology used in the towers is the same used at Splinter Scape."

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Eliowen raised an eyebrow.

"Splinter Scape?"

Yuro nodded.

"Yep, it's our destination. Since only half of the Central Continent is inhabited and the Initiate's Headquarters is at the southernmost end, we will take this train line to the last town. Splinter Scape. It's an entire town on one huge train that goes over the canyon that separates the north and south. They use highly advanced magnets to float over the canyon and carry people across."

Crux crosses his arms and sits back down.

"Heard they haven't been getting as many visitors because of the influx of Necrobeasts in the south."

Yuro puts his hand to his chin.

"Correct. A couple of years ago they had a horrible massacre. A couple of Necrobeasts managed to get onto the train without anyone noticing, for a few years those Necrobeasts developed a nest on the train in secret and then attacked with around 500 Necrobeasts. Almost every Strand user onboard was killed."

Crux lost his smile and looked serious.

"Seriously? Wait why didn't the Initiates help? In fact, why does the South have such bad Necrobeast problems? Has HQ not been doing their job!?"

Crux sighs.

"This is what happens when Lockdown goes into space for a few years. Things go to shit. Guess it's up to Crux the Cool to handle things."

After an hour of relaxing on the train, the group is suddenly approached by a Conductor. He wore a black suit with a peaked cap and reading glasses. He smiled as he approached.

"Just coming to let you know the tracks past Mildry are currently being worked on so this train will stop services at Mildry station soon. Sorry for any inconvenience!"

Everyone looked surprised. Yuro perked up distraught.

"Work on the tracks!? I didn't hear about these at all?"

The conductor puts his hands together and bows.

"I am deeply sorry! Works will go on until tomorrow. If I could have prevented this I would have!"

Crux groans.

"Looks like Crux the Cool is gonna have to wait to save the day..."

The conductor smiles before waving.

"Please enjoy the remainder of this ride. We will be happy to continue your journey tomorrow at the earliest so we will keep all of your belongings on the train. Again I deeply apologize for this inconvenience!"

The conductor walks off to inform other passengers.

Yuro seems troubled as he twiddles his thumbs.

"This is the last place I would have wanted to stop..."

Eliowen looks toward him curiously.

"I've never been to Mildry. What's it like?"

Yuro doesn't answer, he stares at the ground with trembling eyes. Rina looks at him and softens her gaze.

"Gurnm. Herhhmn."

Yuro nods.

"I'll be fine. I suppose we'll have to find a place to sleep for the night then..."

Yuro and the others prepare to stay a night at Mildry while works are finished on the train. Meanwhile, in the storage compartment of the train, Crux's crate of tools begins to rattle. The storage carriage is dark with only the window on the door at the far end of the carriage allowing light to travel in. As the crate rattled and shook a couple of wrenches and hammers fell out on the wood floor. Their thuds echo through the whole storage room. Finally, a strange object burst out from the crate and fell onto the floor, rolling down the carriage.

"FREEDOM! YES!"

Petra looked around trying to find her surroundings.

"Damnit why is it so dark in here!?"

Petra rolled around as the train shifted side-to-side.

"Why is it so bumpy!?"

Petra rolled into boxes and hit her head. She winced as she was batted between two boxes over and over again.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. UGH! STOP MOVING SO MUCH!"

Eventually, the train reached level ground and she stopped rolling everywhere.

"Thank god. Now where am I?"

Petra looked around the storage carriage but couldn't make anything out besides the glowing exit door.

"Just get me out of here..."

Petra rolled herself through the winding passages between boxes and crates, snaking her way closer to the door. The light got brighter as the looming presence of the door grew larger. She had a giant smile as she got closer.

"Now to find the others!"

Suddenly, a shadow blocked the light from the door. Petra shrieked before ducking behind a box. The door to the storage room opened as light rushed in, the shadowy figure crept forward, their head scanning the darkness.

"Hello? Was someone in here?"

They stepped forward as Petra saw who it was. It was a train attendant, she was holding a tin tray beneath her armpit and she looked frightened.

"Hello? No one's supposed to be back here. If there is someone here please exit before I call the conductor."

Petra kept herself hidden behind a box as she looked around. Then from the darkness, a man in a black suit, peaked cap and reading glasses stepped forward. Petra's eyes widened as he had just appeared from nowhere.

"Oh sorry, it was just me. I thought I saw someone here before so I came to investigate."

The man put his hands together and smiled.

"C-Conductor...? I thought there was someone else here. You frightened me for a second."

The attendant relaxed.

"Conductor? So that's who I am..."

The conductor gained a big smile.

The attendant looked confused for a second.

"Haha... yeah. Um well, I should get back to work."

The attendant went to leave when the conductor grabbed her arm.

"No need. We are in need of another persona."

The attendant looked terrified as the conductor's grip on her arm grew stronger.

"Let go! Ow! Stop wait you're hurting me..."

The attendant dropped to her knees as the conductor kept squeezing.

"Wait! Stop!"

All Petra could hear was the snapping of the attendant's arm as she wailed in pain. Tears ran down her face as she sobbed. The conductor smiled.

"You've served your purpose."

From the darkness more people walked out, Petra smelt a foul stench that made her gag. When she saw the people exiting the darkness her expression changed to horror. The people were just muscle and bone, they had no skin and their eye sockets were hollow. The attendant screamed as one grabbed her and began to tear at her skin. Her screams were muted as almost a dozen skinless people ripped her apart. The scrunching and ripping of her flesh were followed by the splatters of blood and snapping of bones. Petra watched as the skinless people rubbed her blood and flesh over their bodies. As they covered themselves in her insides they slowly morphed, their bodies splitting open and skin growing on them. Once they were done, a dozen perfect copies of the attendant stood up.

The conductor put his hands together and smiled.

"Good. Let us see that Mommy is pleased."

The attendants and conductor left the storage carriage as Petra rolled out of the door behind them. The train soon came to a stop as everyone on board got off. The station was quiet, not many people got off, and screens with the schedule displayed many lines of red text that read Cancelled. Everyone walked down the platform to the exit. Petra followed the crowd, rolling behind bins or benches so that she wouldn't be seen.

"Where are those idiots..."

Petra looked around trying to find, Yuro, Rina, Eliowen or Crux. She furiously looked at everyone's faces.

"Hm? What do we have here..."

Suddenly Petra was picked up by the conductor who stared into her eyes.

"A head. How gruesome."

He smiled while looking at Petra.

"We should dispose of this immediately."

The attendants soon surrounded Petra and the conductor as they all smiled and put their hands together.

"HOLD ON!"

Crux came running and snatched Petra.

"Sorry about that. It's just a prop! You see we're a..."

Crux looked around nervously.

"A theatre troupe! Yes! This is a prop from one of our upcoming plays."

The conductor and attendants all turned their heads to the side.

"What would you need a head for?"

Crux nervously backed away.

"Well um... an uh... an execution...?"

Crux spoke very unsure of himself.

The conductor and attendants squinted.

"Execution?"

Crux nodded.

"Very well then. Please be more mindful as to not toss that head around too much. It might give someone a bit of a fright."

Crux held out a thumbs up.

"Got it, boss! I'll keep this head tightly secured!"

Crux quickly ran off to catch up with Yuro and the others.

Petra rolled her eyes.

"You almost blew it! What the hell were you thinking!?"

Crux seemed confused.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I handled that so smoothly, those attendants were practically swooned by my charm at that moment!"

Crux grins and winks.

Petra groans.

"Those attendants aren't- Ugh, listen I'd much rather explain with the others here."

Crux nodded.

"Coming right up! All aboard the Crux Express on a one-way trip to Friendville!"

Petra snarled.

"STOP BEING SUCH A DUMBASS!"

Crux laughed as he ran into town.

The conductor watched them leave with a disappointed glare.

"Those two. They stink of a Haab'. Tell Mommy we've found them."

One of the attendants nods and runs off.

A sinister presence approaches the town of Mildry as sights are set on Eliowen and the Haab'. The mysterious Mommy casts her shadow over the town as night falls...