Chapter 1: Stranded/The DollHouse Car

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It was a cold winter's night. It was almost the beginning of the christmas holidays. At most schools, this would be a time of excitement and joy, with the students all looking forward to the moment when the final bell of the year would ring.

At Canterlot High School, however, things were not so joyful. The whole school was covered by an air of anger. And the cause of this anger? Just one name.

Anon-A-Miss.

And who was Anon-A-Miss? No one knew for sure, but that didn’t stop them from pointing fingers.

And who were they pointing fingers at?

A girl called Sunset Shimmer, who was currently driving her car at almost break neck speed.

The poor teen had never been so miserable in her life. How had everything gone so wrong? Just a couple of short days ago, she had been so happy, having fun with the five girls who were once her best friends at slumber parties. That was until the My Stable page known as Anon-A-Miss appeared, posting the embarrassing secrets of all the students online, for everyone to see, and making it look like Sunset was to blame, turning the whole school against her. But the most heartbreaking thing of all, was that her former friends had all too easily accused her of being Anon-A-Miss, when some silly photos of them, and their most embarrassing secrets had gotten out, before they completely turned their backs on her.

Sunset didn't know what to do. But all she wanted was to get away. So she had just jumped in her car, and started driving. Fast.

She didn’t know how long she had been driving, or where she was going, but she didn’t really care.

Maybe if she had cared, then she could have avoided what happened next.

Being winter, the roads were slippery, and Sunset was already pushing the speed limit. She suddenly lost control, her car skidding off the road, and into a tree. Luckily, Sunset wasn’t hurt, but her car was another story. She got out and took a look at the front. It was badly dented, and the headlights were smashed. Sunset got back in the car, and tried to restart the engine. “Come on. Come on!” She muttered, but it was no use. She growled in frustration. “Great! Just Great! Now what am I gonna do?!”

She tried her phone, but it was out of range. She was stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no way to reach anyone.

She would have to walk.

She got out of the car and began to walk down the road, shivering from the cold night air. She wished she had grabbed a warmer coat. She hadn’t gone very far when she saw the flickering of green lights through the trees, and heard the distinctive clatter of metal wheels on rails.

“A train? Out here?” She said in confusion. She dashed into the trees, and stepped out onto what was obviously a long, featureless platform, and there was indeed a train, which had just pulled into the platform, and screeched to a stop, a passenger door sliding open right in front of her. A sign above the door flipped over, it now read Canterlot.

Sunset sighed. “Huh. I suppose it’s better than just staying out here in the cold.” But just as she stepped aboard, what looked like a vortex appeared in front of her, and then everything went white.

Sunset slowly awoke and sat up with a groan. “Ugh, what hit me?” She pulled herself to her feet, and looked around in confusion. “Wait a minute. I’m inside?” She was in what appeared to be a small, cozy sitting room. “Oh, great. I must have broken into somebody’s house.” She thought in slight panic. “I gotta get out of here.” She made her way over to a nearby door and quietly opened it, only to pause and look at the door, feeling puzzled. “Huh? That’s weird. This door doesn’t feel like a regular door. It’s way too thin, and, is the door knob painted on?” She stepped into the next room, looking around. It seemed to be a dinning room, but something about the room, and everything in it, seemed off to her. “Ok, this is starting to creep me out now.”

Sitting at the table, was a family of four. Sunset slowly approached the father, but he didn’t move. She looked at his face, only to see a painted on, happy, but kind of creepy grin. She looked at the mother and children. They were the same. “Ok, creepy, life sized dolls.” She said nervously. “What is this, some kind of funhouse?” She then gulped. “Or a house of horrors?”

Then, the whole house shook, like in an earthquake, and before Sunset could react, the whole wall of the room seemed to swing open like a giant door. The light from outside blinded Sunset for a moment, but then she looked up and gasped, as a giant of a young girl towered over her. She was at least 5 times Sunset’s size. She had short reddish brown hair, huge eyes, a kind of pudgy face, wore a light green top with a white skirt, and had a big green bow in her hair with a skull in the middle.

Sunset finally put two and two together. “I’m… in a giant DOLLHOUSE?!” She mentally screamed.

“Ooh! A new dolly!” Said the girl excitedly. “I wanna play with my new dolly!”

Suddenly, the heads of the dolls at the table twisted around to look right at Sunset. “Run.” They said ominously.

“Uh oh!” Sunset looked around frantically, trying to find any way out of this mess. The girl reached out her hand to grab Sunset, and she quickly retreated into the Dollhouse’s hallway, the girl poking her huge finger through the kitchen door to reach her. She was trapped.

“Now what do I do?” Sunset whispered. “Someone please tell me this is a nightmare.” Of course, no one did. The house shook once more, almost knocking Sunset off her feet.

“Come out and play, little dolly!” The girl called loudly.

“Play with you? No chance.” Sunset muttered. Just then, she noticed a door at the opposite end of the hall. It didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the house. It was tall, arched, made of metal, and colored red, with an S shaped symbol in the middle. It also seemed familiar.

Wherever it lead, it was Sunset’s only chance.

The only problem was that the giant girl’s thrashing finger was in the way.

She would have to make this fast.

When the girl's finger retreated most of the way through the door, Sunset bolted. She ran harder than she had in her life. Just as the giant finger lunged forward again, Sunset leapt forward with all her might. The finger missed her by inches. Sunset slid along the hall, coming to stop in front of the door. She scrambled to her feet and grabbed the door handles, twisting them around, and the double doors swung open. She scrambled through and slammed the door shut behind her. She leaned back against the door and took a moment to catch her breath.

Only to lose it again, her eyes going wide in shock. In front of her, there was an identical door to the one one she had just come from. It lead into a huge train car. She looked behind her, at the identical train car she had just come out of.

Then she remembered.

“I...really did board a train.” She said under her breath.

She looked out at the passing scenery. Or lack of scenery. As far she could see, there was nothing but hot, red wasteland.

The train was moving too fast for her to simply jump off anyway.

She looked back at the next door, and steeled herself. “Guess the only way is forward.” She said. She crossed the bridge between the two cars, and placed her hands on the handle. If the last car was anything to go by, there could be anything inside this one. “Here goes nothing.”

She twisted the handles around,and the door swung open.

To Be Continued...

Chapter 2: The Arcade Car/The Snow Car/The Grid Car

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As she stepped through the metal door into the next car, Sunset Shimmer braced herself for anything. But as she took in her new surroundings, her eyes widened in shock, before looking all around her in confusion, and then lighting up in wonder. All around her, as far she could see, were row upon row of gaming machines, of all types, shapes, and sizes. There were traditional arcade machines, simulator games, dance games, shooting games, and so many more. All of this, combined with the low lighting, constant beeping, and pop style music, led her to one, incredible conclusion.

“I’m...in the world's biggest ARCADE?!” She exclaimed in excitement. “Why wasn’t I put in this car! I’m officially in video game heaven!” She dashed off to explore, stopping to examine machine after machine. There were some games she knew, some that she didn’t, and some that were just bizarre, but she was enamoured by it all. She could have stayed here for years, playing each and every one of these games. But there were so many games, she simply couldn’t decide where to start. Just as she came up to what looked like a particularly challenging looking adventure/fantasy game, she froze in her tracks as she heard a loud bang, followed by a loud, angry voice.

“UGH! WHY WON’T YOU OPEN YOU STUPID DOOR?!”

Sunset stood frozen on the spot, thinking about what to do. It was obvious she wasn’t alone. But did that mean she had found someone who could help her, or was it some kind of trick created by whoever was in charge of the train. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to find out by just standing there. If there was a chance she could find a way off the train, she had to take it. So she made her way in the direction of the voice. Soon, she walked out of the rows of games, into a small open space, in the center of which was another train car door, the exit of the car. But what really drew her attention was the person standing in front of it. It was a tall, young woman, with her back to Sunset. She had short brown hair that went down to her shoulders, and bronzed, tanned skin. Her clothes consisted of a dark, greenish brown tank top, with dull gold stripes down the back, dark brown, slightly baggy pants, and dark brown boots. Sunset slowly approached her. “Uh, hello?” She said cautiously.

The woman spun around and took an aggressive stance. “Stay where you are!” She snapped, her ocean blue eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Whoa, whoa, take it easy,” Sunset said, raising her hands in surrender. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“How am I supposed to believe that when you're the first…” the woman paused, giving Sunset an odd look. “Uh, person that I've seen since I woke up in this crazy place?”

“Well, that kind of goes both ways, doesn’t it?” Sunset replied. “You're the first person I’ve seen who didn’t want me as their new plaything.”

The woman raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” She asked. “Did you escape from some kind of creepy sex dungeon or something?”

“What?!” Sunset shouted, her eyes wide with shock and disgust. “Not that kind of plaything! In the previous car I was in, I was-” Sunset started to say, before the woman interrupted.

“Car?” She asked, her stance relaxing a little. “You mean like a train car?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Sunset said, lowering her hands. “We’re in a train car, attached to this giant train. Didn’t you know that?”

The woman still looked suspicious of Sunset. “If we're really where you say we are, can you prove it?” She asked.

“Yes! There’s another door just like the one behind you at the other end of the car. That’s where I came in,” Sunset said, hoping the woman believed her.

The woman dropped her stance, but still kept a careful eye on the odd looking girl. “Show me,” She said simply.

The woman stood completely still, her jaw dropped, staring out at the wasteland rushing past them as the endless train thundered along on it’s endless journey. She slowly turned to look at Sunset, who was leaning against the frame of the train car door. “OK, so you definitely weren't kidding about the ‘giant train’ part,” She said quietly.

“Yeah, it was a major shock for me too,” Said Sunset. “If you ask me, it looks like you and I are in the same boat here. Or on the same train in this case.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Said the woman as she walked past Sunset, back into the car, and the red and yellow haired girl closed the door behind them. The woman turned back to face Sunset. “Well, if we’re both stuck here with each other, we may as well introduce ourselves.” She held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Korra.” She gave a small smile, but it looked a little forced.

“Uh, yeah, hi,” Said Sunset with a little uncertainty, shaking the woman's hand, “I’m Sunset Shimmer.”

Korra gave Sunset an odd look. “Sunset Shimmer? Huh. Don’t take this the wrong way, but that’s a weird name for an already weird looking person,” She said.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I’m the weird one? What kind of name is Korra? I’ve never heard a name like that before,” she said, crossing her arms. “And what do you mean I look weird?”

“Where do I start? Your skin color? The color of your hair? Your large eyes? Not to mention those strange clothes?” Korra said, counting each item off on her fingers.

“Hey, I don’t look weird!” Sunset said indignantly.

“Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that,” Korra muttered under her breath.

“Well, anyway,” Sunset continued, rolling her eyes. “Like I said, I think we’re both in the same situation here. Can you remember how you ended up on the train?”

Korra seemed to hesitate before answering. “Um, let’s just say I was dealing with some personal stuff,” she said. “And during all that, I guess I kind of boarded the wrong train by accident, because next thing I knew, I woke up here.”

Sunset could sense that something was deeply troubling Korra, and it wasn’t being stuck on the train. “Actually, you're not the only one. I was dealing with some pretty heavy stuff too.” She admitted as she walked up to Korra and gently took her hand. “But, I could be there for you if you want me to. We can deal with the heavy stuff together.”

Korra raised an eyebrow sketicaly. “You’d do that for me, right out of the blue, right after you just met me?” She said.

“Well, yeah, why not?” Said Sunset with an understanding smile. “Seems to me, you and I are all we have on this endless train,” She said. “And besides, everyone needs a friend right?”

Korra still seemed reluctant, but then she sighed and gave a small smile. “Yeah, I guess you're right. I’ve been on my own for so long, I’d almost forgotten what having a friend was like.” She said in a slightly weary voice.

“That’s settled then,” Said Sunset with a satisfied smile. “We’re gonna stick together until we can find a way off this train. And I think the first step is to try and figure out how to get that door open so we can move on to the next car.”

Korra groaned. “Ugh, good luck with that. I tried really hard to open it, and it just wouldn’t budge.” She said with a frown.

“Well, maybe it will only open if we complete some kind of task,” Sunset suggested. “Let's go take a look.” Korra nodded, and the two girls headed back through the rows of arcade machines toward the opposite end of the car. Once the other door came into site, they stopped and looked around. “Alright, keep your eyes open for anything that might give us some kind of clue of how to open it,” Sunset said.

“Got it,” Korra said, scanning her surroundings. “Hey, what about that?” She pointed to a large screen above the door. It had a long list of numbers, which decreased as you went further down, the smallest at the bottom, each with a different name beside them.

Sunset looked up at the screen and pondered. “Hmm, looks like a scoreboard,” She said. She scanned the names on the board, none of which she recognised, until she reached the bottom, where, to her surprise, she saw her’s and Korra’s names, both their scores at 0. Then, a message flashed across the top of the board. GET THE HIGH SCORE AND WIN THE GRAND PRIZE! Sunset gasped in excitement. “Get the High Score! That’s it! I know what we need to do!”

“Really? Well, would you mind filling me in, because I’m lost,” said Korra, looking perplexed.

“It’s simple!” Sunset continued. “Our names are on the board, along with our scores. All we have to do is get our score to the top, and I bet you the grand prize is that the door will open!”

“Um, ok,” Said Korra in utter confusion, “and how do we do that exactly?”

Sunset turned and looked at all the arcade machines, practically giddy. “We play the games, of course!” She exclaimed.

“Games?” Said Korra, looking upon the game machines in utter confusion. “You're telling me these weird machines are all games?”

“Uh, yeah! What else would they be?” Said Sunset, before her smile suddenly faded. “Wait a minute. Don’t you have arcades where you come from?”

“I’ve seen game machines before, but none of them were like this,” Korra said, gesturing with both arms. “I don’t have the slightest clue how these things work.”

“Is that so?” Said Sunset, before her face split into a smirk. “Well, it’s very lucky for you that I happen to be here, then.” She stepped forwards toward the nearest game, before looking back at Korra. “Watch closely, Korra. You're about to learn from a master.”

Korra rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Learn from a master, huh? Like I haven't learned from enough of those in my life,” She said as she walked up behind Sunset to look over her shoulder. “So, tell me, oh great master, what kind of game is this?”

“This is an all time classic, called Street Fighter. This is just your basic beat’em up game, but you can’t just go bashing buttons. You have to know what your opponent is going to do, so that you know the right moment to move in for the Knockout,” Sunset explained.

“Uh, knockout?” Korra said in confusion.

“Just watch,” Sunset said, as she manipulated the controls, selecting one of the fierce looking fighters on the screen. The screen then changed to the fighter she selected and another fighter facing each other, with two yellow bars across the top.

“FIGHT!” Said a deep voice, and the madness began. The two fighters lunged at each other and started kicking and punching each other at insane speed, as Korra watched Sunset’s hands fly across the controls. Everything was happening so fast, she almost couldn’t keep up. She looked at Sunset’s face, seeing the concentration and excitement in her eyes. She was having a blast with this. As the fight went on, the two yellow bars slowly edged further down, until, with one last strike, the opponent's bar hit the bottom, and he keeled over and collapsed in a bloody pulp. “KO!” Said the deep voice.

“YES!” Sunset cheered. “IN YOUR FACE!” She then turned to look at Korra with a wide grin. “Well, what do you think?”

“I think that was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen!” Said Korra with wide eyes.

“If you think this is crazy, you really do know nothing about video games,” Sunset said with a smirk. “Well anyway, I think It’s your turn to give it a try.”

“Uh, okay, sure. I’ve done way harder stuff than this. I can do this!” Korra said with a mix of determination and uncertainty.

A few minutes later, Korra finished her first game. “Whoo-hoo! I did it!” She cheered. With Sunset’s help, she had won her first game. “Oh, wow, that was so much fun!”

“I knew you’d get the hang of it,” Said Sunset with a smile. “And look at our scores!” She pointed at the scoreboard, where both their names had moved from off the bottom. “Well anyway, step aside, I'm gonna show you how it’s…” She paused as the game screen suddenly went black. “Or, I guess not.”

“What happened?” Korra asked. “It’s not broken, is it?”

“Hmm, I doubt it,” Said Sunset with a frown. “Maybe it just means we can only play each game once.”

“Well, what do we do now?” Korra asked.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Sunset said, gesturing with both arms. “To get our score up, we have to keep playing all the games.”

“All of them?” Korra said, looking around at the many rows of games.

“Come on, look how well you did on your first try. We can do this!” Sunset said encouragingly.

Korra looked back at Sunset and smirked. “You know what, you're right! Let’s do this!” She said with confidence.

For what felt like hours, the two girls played game after game, their score climbing higher and higher. Eventually, they found that the score was just off the top spot, and there was only one game left. It looked like most of the other games, with a tv screen, but it had two long, oddly shaped pieces of plastic with lots of different buttons running down the arms of them, which Korra raised an eyebrow at, but Sunset recognized as guitars. Korra looked over at Sunset skeptically. “Uh, what kind of game is this?” She asked.

“Oh, this is a really fun one, because you don’t just stand around pushing buttons, you actually take part in the game,” Explained Sunset excitedly as she picked up one of the guitar controllers and presented it to Korra. “If this is the game I think it is, we’re gonna have a blast with this! This is a guitar. You play music with it, and this is for a guitar simulation game. Luckily for you, I’ve played games like this before, and I play guitars for real. We’ll be out of here in no time!”

“Well, if that’s the case, maybe I should leave you to it then,” Korra said, eyeing the other guitar controller with uncertainty.

“No way, we started this together, we’re getting out of here together,” Said a determined Sunset, picking the other controller and thrusting it at Korra, which she took reluctantly. “Look, just follow my lead, ok? Trust me, we’ll breeze through this.” The game started up, simply saying The Ultimate Solo. The song bagan slowly, with Sunset tapping away on the mock guitar. “Heh, child's play,” she smirked. The song steadily went faster and faster, Sunset’s fingers dancing across the buttons, Korra watching with interest.

“Hey, are you sure you got this?” She asked.

“No, sweat,” Said Sunset. “I’ve played way more complicated stuff than this. I’ve so got this!”

FIVE MINUTES LATER…

“I DON’T GOT THIS! I DON’T GOT THIS! HELP MEEE!” Sunset screamed frantically as Korra screamed next to her. The music was playing so fast, she could barely keep up, her fingers almost a blur.

Outside the Train Car, the door finally opened, and Sunset and Korra walked out, looking exhausted, and Sunset cradling her right hand. “Ouch! I’ll never be able to look at a guitar the same way again,” She said with a grimace, trying to wiggle her fingers, but instantly regretting it. “Ahh, so much cramp!”

“Maybe I can help with that,” Said Korra, gently taking hold of Sunset’s hand. “I know a thing or two about healing.”

“Healing…” Sunset began, before, SNAP! “YEOWWW!” She screamed in agony.

“Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Korra spluttered, pulling her hands back like she had just received an electric shock.

“Next time,” Sunset hissed through gritted teeth. “Look before you snap.” She then looked across to the door of the next car. “Well, anyway, we'd better keep moving.” She and Korra then crossed the bridge and stopped in front of the next train car door. “Remember, there could be anything in there, so be ready for anything.”

“You betcha,” Said Korra, as she placed her handles on the handles. “Ready?”

“Just do it,” Sunset said, so Korra turned the handle and they stepped through into the next car, only for Sunset to wrap her arms around herself, shivering at the sudden cold. “Whoa, jeez, it’s like winter in here.” And she was right. As they looked at their new surroundings, they saw they were in what looked like a meadow covered in snow, with a few pine trees in the distance. Sunset looked at Korra, who didn’t seem bothered by the cold, even though she was wearing slightly less than her. “What’s with you, aren’t you bothered by this?”

“Actually no,” Korra replied in a flat tone. “This is actually making me kinda homesick.”

“Where are you from, the North Pole?” Sunset asked with a slight chuckle.

“Nah, don’t be silly,” Korra chuckled back. “My cousins are from the North Pole, I’m from the South Pole.”

“Whaah?” Sunset said, not sure if she was joking.

“Well, anyway, we'd better keep moving,” Korra said, moving ahead of Sunset as they made their way across the snowy ground. However, they hadn’t gone far, when Korra stopped in her tracks and pointed. “Sunset, look!” Sunset looked where she was pointing, and her eyes widened. Lying in the snow was what looked like a young girl with ginger hair. They quickly dashed to her side, and knelt down beside her. The girl wore a green winter jacket, gray skirt, dark gray leg warmers, gray boots, dark gray gloves, a backpack, large U shaped glasses, and a dark gray headband, with her hair tied in a ponytail. Korra was about to try and wake her, when her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up with a groan.

“Ugh, did I just hallucinate a train station,” She said in an annoyed tone, but then she looked and stared at both Sunset and Korra. “And now I’ve been found by two total weirdos!”

“Uh, are you ok there?” asked Korra.

“Oh, yeah, sure, I’m just peachy,” Said the girl as she stood up, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Why wouldn’t I be fine after waking up in the snow and being found by a female Rocky wannabe and her pastel colored alien girlfriend?”

“What did she say about me?” Said an indignant Sunset.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the girl went on, “Didn’t mean to strike a nerve, but how about I just go before you get on my nerves.”

“Ok, I’m gonna break this girl's legs in a minute,” Sunset said with a scowl as the girl headed off in a huff.

“I don’t think we should just let her go,” Said Korra.

“Why shouldn’t we? She obviously doesn’t want our help,” Said Sunset with a frown.

“You heard her, right?” Korra asked. “When she woke up, she said something about hallucinating a train station. I think she may be stuck on the train, just like we are. She may be able to help us.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Ugh, fine, but she’d better watch her mouth.” So they both headed after the grumpy girl, which wasn’t for long as they saw her taking out her frustration on three snowmen, flicking the hat on the first, sticking the wooden finger of the second up it’s carrot nose, and lightly bringing her fist down on the round head of the third… which suddenly screamed, causing the girl to scream.

“Are you my mum?” The little white sphere asked. It had a black stripe down the middle, with two little white dots for eyes, and four stubby, mechanical little legs.

“W-what? Am I what?” The girl stuttered in shock and confusion.

“Are you my mum?” The little ball asked again in a chipper voice

“No!” The girl said.

“So you’ve come to bring me the sweet release of death,” The ball said in a deeper, depressed sounding voice.

“Also no,” said the girl, as Sunset and Korra walked up to witness the strange conversation.

“Oh, well how about either you?” The sphere asked them both. “Are you my mum?”

“Uh, Sunset,” Korra said in utter confusion, “What am I looking at here?” Sunset didn’t answer, only letting out a high pitched squeal. Korra looked at her, seeing her eyes were wide and starry. “Sunset?”

Instead of answering, Sunset dashed forward and scooped the sphere up in her hands. “Oh, my gosh, you are so cute!” She exclaimed in delight.

“Oh, do you really think so? Cuteness is overrated. So, are you my mum?” The little ball said.

“I can be if you want me to be,” Sunset cooed, nuzzling the little ball with her cheek.

“Yay! Stop, you're smothering me!”

“OK, stop that, that’s weird,” said the red haired girl, snatching the ball from Sunset’s hands.

“Hey!” Sunset said indignantly. “That was rude!”

“Least it brought you back from La La Land,” Korra muttered.

“My baby,” Sunset whispered with watery eyes.

Korra facepalmed with a groan. “Ugh!”

“So, what exactly are you?” Said the red head as she examined the little sphere. “Are you a toy? You have really good speech recognition.”

“I’m looking for my mother. I don’t know what she looks like though. She might be large. Or incredibly small, like a gnat.”

“Wait, you're telling us you're looking for your mother and you don’t know what she looks like?” Asked Korra with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, pretty much,” Said the little sphere, before asking the red head, “Are you looking for your mother too?”

“No, definitely not,” she said, before muttering under her breath, “Not my dad either. Weird toy.” She dropped the ball on the ground and started walking, the ball and the older girls following.

“So what are you looking for?” The ball asked innocently.

“I’m not looking for anything,” Said the girl, sounding annoyed. “I’m going to Oshkosh.”

“Is that where you're from?” Asked Sunset.

“It’s where Game Design Camp is,” Said the girl, before looking back at Sunset and Korra. “And why are you two following me?”

“We’re not following you, this just happens to be the only way to go,” Sunset replied, quickly becoming fed up with the grumpy redhead.

“So you're going alone?” The ball asked the girl.

“Yes.” She muttered.

“Without your parents?”

“I don’t need them to get there!” The girl snapped. “Now go back to being a snowman or whatever you are.”

“Oh, my gosh, what am I?” The little ball asked, sounding distressed.

The girl groaned in frustration, “Ughhhh,” which turned into a sound of surprise, “Ooh.” In front of her was another snowman, only this one was quite a quite bit taller than an average snowman, and in the bottom part of its body was another train car door, the exit to the car. Sunset and Korra knew this, but the girl didn’t. “Puh, North St Paul’s kids probably built this.” She was about to reach for the handle, when she was interrupted by Korra.

“Uh, don’t you think it’s strange that there’s a door in a giant snowman?” She said.

“Who cares as long it leads away from here and the both of you,” The girl said flippantly, before turning the handle, the door swinging open. She took one look outside, and stared. “I’m… on a big train?” She then turned back to Sunset and Korra, now looking excited. “I’m on a big train! Is this what all big trains are like?”

“Normally no,” Said Korra.

“Definitely not,” Said Sunset.

“Oh wow!” Said the girl, giddy with childish excitement. “I gotta see what’s in the next train car!” With that, she turned and dashed out of the car and over the bridge between the cars.

“Hey, come back!” Shouted Sunset as she and Korra gave chase. “You don’t know what’s in there!”

“It’ll probably be disappointing,” Said the little sphere as it scurried after them.

“Wow!” The girl said as she threw open the door of the next car… only for her face to fall in disappointment. “Oh.” The room she saw was completely empty, and almost featureless except for a square grid-like pattern across the floor, ceiling and walls, and the next exit door at the far end.

“Called it,” Said the sphere as it came up behind her along with Sunset and Korra, the former looking quite annoyed with her.

“Are you always this reckless?” She said in a frustrated voice, only for Korra to place her hand on her shoulder.

“Simmer down, Sunset,” She said. “We’ve done nothing but shout at this girl since we met her. Maybe now she’s in a better mood, she’ll be more willing to talk.”

“Are you sure about that?” Asked Sunset doubtfully. “She doesn't seem like the talking type.”

“She just woke up and found herself in a crazy situation, how would you feel?” Korra said earnestly.

Sunset sighed. “OK, fine.” She muttered.

But before anymore could be said, the girl stepped into the room, and a musical note was heard as a colored cube rose up from the panel she’d stepped on. “Whoa, back to being impressed,” She said as she dashed into the room and began pressing the panels left and right, creating rows and rows of brightly colored cubes, the little sphere scurrying in to join her.

“Well, at least she’s having fun now,” Said Korra as she and Sunset watched the girl enjoying herself. “You think maybe we should join her?”

“Well, it doesn’t look like there’s anything dangerous here,” Sunset said. “Sure beats dodging giant toddlers and beating ridiculously high scores.” She then looked at Korra with a smile. “Sure, why not? We can take a short breather here.”

“Agreed,” Korra smiled back, and the two girls rushed in to play amongst the multicoloured blocks. A little later, the little sphere hopped up beside the red haired girl, who was making an alien creature out of purple blocks.

“Are you building a coffin?” It asked her.

“It’s a character from my game,” She said, placing the creature down beside a spaceship made of yellow blocks. “I call it ‘Good guys Popping Bad guys. It’s the best game i’ve ever made,” She finished proudly.

“How many games have you made?”

“One.”

The ball gasped happily. “You’re joking?”

“That’s kind of a weird thing to joke about,” Said the girl in confusion.

“That’s my name! I’m One One.”

“Oh, so we’re finally introducing ourselves, are we?” Said Korra as she Sunset walked up to them.

“So, your name is One One?” Sunset asked the now named little ball.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“That makes you even cuter,” Sunset said cheerfully, going starried eyed again.

“Oh, happy day,” Said One One.

“Well, anyway,” Said Korra, raising an eyebrow at Sunset. “Since we’re giving out names, I think we should do the same.” She then turned to the girl. “Hi, I’m Korra.”

“And I’m Sunset Shimmer,” Said Sunset as she came back to her senses.

The girl frowned. “One One, Korra, and Sunset Shimmer? Those are all kinda weird names to have, unlike my name which is Tulip, and is perfectly normal.”

At this, Sunset looked annoyed. “Oh, your saying my name is weird when you're named after a flower. Very original.”

“Least I don’t look like a pastel colored alien,” Tulip said back.

“What’s that,” Said Sunset, about to walk right up to Tulip, when Korra jumped in between them.

“Ok, kids, before this goes any further, let’s just take a step back and take a breather,” She said, looking at both of them sternly. Sunset and Tulip looked at each before they both sighed and backed off.

“Uh, sorry,” Tulip muttered. “I’ve just been going through a lot lately.”

“Yeah, me too,” muttered Sunset, scratching the back of her head.

Tulip then looked at one of the panels on the ceiling, and her smile returned. “Oh, ho, you know I’m getting up there,” She said, taking off her right glove and tossing it up at the panel. The glove struck home, and a blue cube emerged, as the glove fell back to the floor. “Ha, ha!” As she reached for her glove, Sunset and Korra noticed something.

“Uh, Tulip?” Said Korra, sounding worried. “Why is your hand glowing?”

“Huh? What are you talking ab-?” Tulip stopped as she looked at the palm of her hand… and gasped in shock as she saw a glowing green number, 115, on her palm. “Ahh! Wh-what’s this?!”

Sunset and Korra starred, wide eyed, at the brightly glowing digits, before looking at each other, and then down at their own hands. Sunset quickly pulled off her own glove, as Korra unwrapped the bindings on her own hand. They held up their hands and unclenched their fingers, gasping at what they saw. They both had numbers too! Sunset’s was 120, but Korra’s was 250!

“W-what is this? What’s going on?” Stammered Sunset, starting to panic, but before anymore could be said, the whole car jolted, and they all dashed to the door to see what was happening. Outside, they saw that the train had ground to a halt, and all they could see was the vast, red expanse of wasteland that the train travelled through.

“Um, do any of you guys know what Wisconsin looks like?” Said Tulip nervously.

“Alright, hold on let me think,” said One One, “I want to say it looks like…this?”

“I think I can safely say we’re nowhere near Wisconsin,” Said Sunset quietly.

“I think I can say we’re nowhere near anywhere,” Said Korra in the same quiet voice.

All three girls looked at the wasteland, before looking at the sky as they saw a stream of light flow down and strike one of the cars further back along the train.

“Ok,” Tulip muttered as they peaked around the edge of the platform to look back along the train. They squinted as they saw what looked like the silhouette of a person being pulled into the stream, and then dissolving as they were sucked up into the sky. Tulip gasped in horror at this, with Sunset and Korra looking on, just as shocked, before the stream retreated into the sky, and then came crashing down into the ground, causing a shockwave that kicked up a wave of dust, and forcing the girls back a couple of inches. “Whahh, what happened to that guy?!”

“Do we really want to find out?!” Sunset said in shock.

“I’ve seen a lot of freaky stuff, but that was just messed up!” Shouted Korra.

“You're all in kind of a bad place right now,” Stated One One.

“I-I’m not...I don’t want to be on this train anyone!” Shouted Tulip in panic as she ran toward a step ladder and began climbing down.

“Tulip, come back!” Shouted Korra as she, Sunset and One One gave chase.

“Yes, wait, are you my mum? I forget what you said last time,” Said One One as they all began climbing down.

“Not now, One One!” Shouted Sunset.

Tulip reached the bottom of the ladder, just above the enormous train car wheels, before dropping to the ground and dashing out into the vast expanse of the wasteland, screaming into the still air. However, she didn’t get very far, before her boots became stuck in what seemed to be thick mud. As she struggled to pull herself free, something even more terrifying happened. Something began pushing its way up from the ground, when what looked feelers burst up and began flailing about.

Sunset and Korra were rushing up to help her, when Sunset looked back and saw that the train was slowly beginning to move again. “Korra, the train!” She yelled.

“Forget that, we have to save Tulip!” Korra yelled back, and not a moment too soon, as the feelers grabbed onto a short, dead looking tree, and pulled itself out of the ground, revealing a large, cockroach like creature, followed by two more. They advanced on Tulip as she struggled to free herself. Sunset and Korra reached her side, grabbing her arms, and with one huge effort, they finally freed her, before turning and running back toward the train, with One One perched on Tulip’s shoulder, humming a silly tune as they ran.

“Doo, do,do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, doo!”

“What are you singing?” Tulip asked as the three girls ran.

“It’s a wacky, getting chased song, I made it up.”

“What the heck are they?!” Shouted Sunset as she looked back over her shoulder at the pursuing roach creatures.

“Talk later, run now!” Tunip shouted back at her before they all scrambled up the ridges of the wheel of the train car and back up the ladder. But the roaches were not so easy to escape. They spread their wings and buzzed up after them, as they dashed back into the grid car, the huge bug right behind them. As Tulip and Sunset made it through the door, two of the roach dogs swooped down at Korra, who quickly turned, and with two well practiced kicks, blew them both away with twin blasts of air. As Tulip and Sunset were about to slam the door shut, they noticed that Korra wasn’t with them.

“Wait, where's Korra?” Asked Sunset frantically.

“There she is!” Chirped One One. “She’s with her new friends.”

The girls both looked as Korra ran as fast she could toward the door, another roach dog right behind her. She dashed through, and then all three girls tried to shove the door shut, only for the bug to get it’s head stuck in the gap. They struggled hard, but the roach dog was too strong as it forced its way through, throwing them all to the floor, then sliding along the floor, leaving a trail of red cubes in its wake. Tulip panicked as she began to build a wall in front of her from the blocks. The roach turns and leaps at her, hitting the wall, as Tulip runs out from behind it. The roach regroups and leaps at her again, landing on top of her this time, pinning her to the floor. As she struggles, a mouth like opening underneath the roach's head begins to glow, sucking up a blue light from Tulip, whose face looks like it’s beginning to shrivel up.

“Tulip!” Yelled Sunset, and she was about to run over to try and help her, but One One beat her to it.

“I can help, Miss Tulip.” POP! One One split in half, launching one half into the roach dog, plugging up its mouth, and throwing the creature off of Tulip, who sat up with a gasp as her face returned to normal.

“Whoa, he can do it?” Asked Sunset when she and Korra reached them.

“Yeah, apparently, he can do that,” Said Tulip. The two halves of One One clicked back together, and the three girls dashed away toward the opposite end of the car. “Give us a wall!” Korra shouted, grabbing One One and throwing him along the floor toward the door, leaving a long trail of red blocks behind him, before he started rolling back and forth, building a wall out of the blocks around the exit door. Tulip then grabbed her little spaceship and alien. “Ok, good guy. Pop that bad guy!” She threw the spaceship as hard as she could, but it bounced off with no effect. “Uh, bad guys turn!” She threw the alien, with the same result. “One One? Hows that wall?” Tulip asked as they turned and ran towards the far door.

One One had built a wall with a square shaped hole for the girls to escape through. He was rolling around on the top. “Well, it’s more of a house instead of a wall. Do you want me to start over? I’ll just start over.”

“No, don’t start over!” Shouted Sunset as she dived through the hole, then reached through to pull Tulip through, and then both girls grabbed Korra’s arms and yanked her through as well, just in time, as the roach dog dived at them, but became stuck in the hole, struggling and flailing.

“I forget to make a roof. Is that weird for a house? No roof?” Asked One One innocently, as the girls caught their breaths.

The three girls scrambled out of the car door, with Tulip falling to her knees.

“This place has stuff that’s ok about it. And some stuff that could be better.” Stated One One happily.

“What in the spirit's name were those things?” Asked Korra as she mopped her brow.

“They looked like giant, mutated cockroaches,” replied Sunset as she bent over, panting for breath.

“But with legs like a dog?” Put in Tulip.

“Ok, Roachdog, got it,” Nodded Korra.

Tulip leaned against the wall of the car to catch her breath. “Huh. There has to be a way off this train that won’t kill me,” She stated.

“I think you mean, won’t kill us,” Said Sunset with a frown, but Tulip ignored her, thoroughing her brow in deep thought.

“Ok, everything has rules. Even crazy things have their own logic. It’s a train, right? And what do all trains have?” She asked out loud.

Sunset thought hard. “Uhh, a Conductor?” she asked.

“A Conductor? Oh, I think we have one of those,” Chimed in One One.

“And, where would we find this Conductor?” Asked Korra.

“He would most likely be at the engine,” Answered One One.

The girls headed over to the edge of the platform, and looked out at the seemingly endless line of train cars. They then looked at the numbers on their hands, and each took on a determined look.

“We’re getting off this train,” Stated Tulip firmly.

“But first we find the Conductor,” Stated Korra, just as firmly.

“After we reach the engine,” Finished Sunset.

With that, the three companions crossed over to the next train car, the first step on their long journey to the engine.

To Be Continued...

Chapter 3: The Beach Car

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In the latest train car, the inside looked like a large rectangular room, with a grid-like pattern covering the walls, with some of the squares coloured black, and some with random letters in them, spelling out certain words. One of the empty white squares was suddenly stamped with a letter F. The machine that stamped it floated across the room, blue flames blazing from it’s thrusters. In the glass covered cockpit, Tulip sat at the controls, as Sunset walked along beside it, looking at a holographic display projected from a small device in her hands, showing her the current crossword puzzle the two of them were working on together. “45 down, 7 letters,” she muttered in concentration, before looking down at the room's floor. “One One? How long have you been doing this?”

“I’ve been helping since the start”, Said the little spherical robot. It had been ‘helping’ by writing all sorts of congratulatory messages about it self in the puzzle squares, such as, One One #1, One for all and all for One One etc. “I think it’s a pretty powerful message.”

Sunset rolled her eyes and sighed, before picking up One One. “I think it’s better you stay out of the way for now.” She then leant down and rolled the little ball away from her. “Korra, can you watch One One till we’re done here?”

One One cheered as he rolled across the floor and came to rest next to a very bored looking Korra as she sat against the wall. “Oh, yeah, sure, great,” She said flatly. This kind of puzzle challenge was not her kind of thing at all. “Leave the little kickball to me.” She looked down at One One as he blinked up at her innocently. “You know, if my friend Asami was here, she would adore you.”

“Really?” asked One One happily, “Could your friend be my Mum?”

“Well, she would want to be your mom, and smother you with adoration right before she tries to take you apart to see how you work,” Korra said with a humourless chuckle.

“Oh,” One One said, “So she would love me to death. Yay.”

The stamping machine landed, and the letter I opened up as Tulip stepped out in front of Sunset. “Thanks for taking care of One One," she said, "We gotta finish this, and he wasn’t exactly helping.”

“Yeah, I know,” Said Sunset with a slight frown. “Look, we're almost done here, so let’s finish this up so we can keep moving.”

“Aye Aye Captain,” Chirped One One, causing all three girls to roll their eyes.

The group ran on to the next car. Inside, it was dark and wooded, and all across the ground were little bulb-like creatures with little beards, who were snoring softly as they slept. The three girls had to tiptoe slowly and carefully threw them without waking them up. “OK,” Muttered Tulip as she carried One One up above her head.

“You know, If I didn’t know how dangerous these little guys are, I’d say they’re kinda cute,” Sunset said as she stepped carefully between the little wizards.

“Not now, Sunset,” Korra said with a huff as she followed behind the two of them.”

“They look so peaceful,” Said One One contemplatively.

“Shh,” Hissed Tulip, “Six inch voice.”

“DID YOU SAY SIXTY INCH VOICE?!” One One shouted loudly, as all the little wizards opened they’re bright, glowing yellow eyes.

“Spells! Spells!” The wizards chanted as the girls ran for it, as they were bombarded by arrows of light, as the little creatures gave chase.

“No angry wizards!” Shouted Tulip.

“This is so weird!” Shouted Korra.

They ran on to the next car, where they found themselves inside a large, clear ball, as they rolled around the inside of a giant pinball machine. “The doors inside of…” Tulip muttered before One One bounced off her shoulder into the opposite side of the sphere, forcing it to roll back into a round slot, which lit up as a loud beeping sound was heard. Beside the slot were the words Multi-Ball.

“This is where I belong,” Said One One as he came to rest beside Tulip’s shoulder.

“Uh oh,” Said Sunset with wide eyes as she saw the Multi-Ball sign.

“What’s Multi-” Korra began to ask, before she saw a batch of large silvery balls coming straight toward them. “BALL!!” All three girls yelled and screamed as they were tossed around the machine by the other balls.

“I almost found my Mum that time,” Said One One happily as the girls left the pinball car, “And you all got the 11th highest score in pinball! Don’t want to be in the top 10, though. Too much pressure,” He finished.

Tulip, who was staring at the number on her hand, frowned. “Ugh, this isn’t a game to me One One,” She said grouchily as One One jumped off her shoulder onto the walkway, splitting into its two halves.

“We can still have fun,” Said the happy One.

“Not when you have things to do,” Tulip said in annoyance. “You work first, so you get to enjoy the fun later. I help my dad fix the go carts, I get to drive them before he re-sells them. Work first.” The One’s just stared up at her.

“Uh, Tulip,” Sunset said, “I can appreciate you wanting to put work above everything else. I used to be the same way. But, if you did it with your dad, surely it wasn’t all work.”

Tulip hesitated for a moment, before saying, “OK, sometimes there was pizza during the work, and hose fights, but,” She raised her arms above her head, “all of that was still under the work umbrella.” As she lowered her arms again, she gasped in panic as she looked at her hand. “Ah!”

“Tulip, what’s wrong?” asked Sunset in worry as she and Korra dashed forward to look over her shoulder. They gasped at what they saw.

“Tulip, your number!” Korra said in shock.

“It was 115 before!” Tulip went on. Indeed, her number now read 114. “Oh, no no no!” she continued frantically, before dropping to her knees in front of One One. “Did I do something wrong? Did I lose a point? Am I being timed?!”

Looking at each other, Sunset and Korra quickly checked their own numbers, but neither of theirs had changed. “What’s going on?” Sunset asked, looking down at One One. “Why has Tulip’s number gone down and ours haven’t?”

“Did she do something to cause it to drop?” Korra asked.

“I’ve seen that happen before,” Said the Negative One ominously. “When it reaches zero, you are go-”

“You’re gone forever!” Positive One interrupted.

“I was talking,” Said Negative One, narrowing its eye.

“That’s it?” Tulip said in frustration. “Nobody told me this number was gonna change. No one said anything!” She banged her fist on the walkway floor as she continued her rant, “Now, I’m gonna die on this stupid train because there isn’t a stupid rulebook!”

“Tulip!” Korra said forcefully as she got down on her knees in front of the distressed girl, placing her hands on the red head's shoulders, “Get a grip on yourself!”

“One One only said that you’d disappear if your number reached 0, whatever that means,” Sunset said in agreement, “he didn’t say anything about you dying, so calm down.”

“You rule in my book Miss Tulip,” Positive One said as it walked up in front of her knees.

“Ugh, let go of me!” Tulip said in indignation, reaching up and forcing Korra’s hands off her shoulders, before scoping up One One up into her arms. “I don’t have time for this!” She stood up, turned and dashed ahead of them to the next car.

“Tulip, stop!” Sunset shouted, but the red head completely ignored her.

“We can’t lose her,” Korra said, as she and Sunset gave chase.

Opening the door to the next car, Sunset and Korra came to a stop, seeing Tulip as she just stood and stared. They found themselves on a grassy field, with a palm tree here and there. The grassy outcrop overlooked what looked like an ocean, which lapped up along a sandy beach. The sound of the waves splashing could be heard along with a gentle sea breeze.

“We're on a beach?” Korra asked with a raised eyebrow, as Tulip turned back around toward the other two girls with a bewildered, yet worried look.

“Uh, you guys.” She said slowly, “I think you’d better look at this.”

“Look at what?” Asked Sunset, before Tulip stepped aside and her eyes widened at what she saw. There, lying on the ground, out cold, was a young teenage boy. He had puffy black hair, and a rounded, slightly chubby face. He wore a pink jacket, a black T shirt with a large yellow star on the front, jeans with the bottoms of the legs rolled up, and sandals on his otherwise bare feet. Sunset and Korra looked at each other, before nodding, and then rushing forward. They knelt down beside the boy to check on him. “You think he’s alright?”

Korra gently placed two fingers on his wrist. “Well, he has a pulse,” She said, “Don’t you think this is just like how we found Tulip?”

“Yeah,” Sunset noded, “This is all too similar.” She then looked down toward the boy’s right hand, which was flat on the ground. “You don’t think…?”

“Only one way to be sure,” said Korra, as she reached the boy's hand. However, she paused as they heard a groan come from the boy. They looked toward his face as his eyes slowly opened, before he tried to sit up. “Whoa, take it easy,” Korra said, “Are you alright?”

“Uh, I think so,” Said the boy with a frown, before getting a proper look at the two girls. “Jeez, what happened? And who are you two?” He then looked closer at Sunset. “And what kind of Gem are you? I never saw one like you before?”

“Uhh, Gem?” Asked Sunset in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, you're a Gem aren’t you?” The boy asked like it was obvious. “How else could you be so colourful?”

“Ugh, not this again,” Sunset said with groan, as Korra smirked in amusement. “Look, I have no idea what you’re talking about. What’s a Gem?”

“Well, you know, gems are-” The boy began to explain, as he raised his arms, before pausing as he noticed a green glow coming from his hand. “Huh?” He took one look at his palm, and his eyes widened in shock, “Whoa! W-what’s this? Why’s it on my hand?!”

“Let me guess. You have a number on your hand?” Asked Korra with a serious look.

“Uhh, yeah,” The boy said, before turning his hand to show the girls his own number, confirming their suspicions. His number was 550. “How did you know?”

“Because we have them, too,” Sunset explained, as she and Korra raised their hands, showing their own number to the new passenger. “We think you got here the same way that we did.”

“Got here?” Asked the boy, “What are you talking about? Isn’t this Beach City?”

“Wherever you were before, trust us, you’re not there, now,” Korra said, “You boarded what looked like a train before you woke up here, right?”

“Yeah! I remember that!” The boy replied. “I’m… guessing that happened to you girls, too?”

“It happened to all three of us, actually,” Sunset confirmed, gesturing over toward Tulip.

“OK, so, where are we now? And what do these numbers mean?” The boy asked. “Are we on another planet or something?”

“Umm, I guess you could say that,” Sunset said slowly, “You know that train you boarded? You're actually on that train, right now.”

“This… is a train?” The boy asked, looking at his surroundings. “Sure doesn’t look like any train I’ve ever seen.”

“It may look like you're on a beach, but we’re actually inside a train car attached to a giant train,” Explained Korra.

“A giant train?” The boy said slowly.

A few moments later, the boy stared out in astonishment as the endless wasteland rushed past as the train rumbled onwards. But he then gave an unimpressed shrug. “Eh, I’ve been to weirder places than this,” he said with a tired sigh, before walking back inside the car, closing the door behind him, and standing beside the three girls.

“You don’t sound too put off by all this,” Sunset said with a curious look.

“I’ve been through way more weird and traumatizing stuff, believe me,” The boy said dismissively.

“Well, anyway,” Sunset said, “Since you’re in the same situation we are, why don’t we introduce ourselves.” She held out to shake his hand. “Hi, I’m Sunset Shimmer,” she then gestured to the older girl next to her, “This is Korra.”

“Hey,” Korra said with a small wave.

“And the red head over there is Tulip,” Sunset continued, gesturing over to the youngest girl as she stood off to the side. “Who’s going through a bit of an episode at the moment because her number went down and she thinks if hits 0 she’ll die.”

“What?!” Said the boy with wide eyes.

“We don’t know that for sure,” Sunset quickly added, “One One was being extremely vague when he told her what might happen.”

“Uh, One One?” The boy asked.

“The ball that she's holding,” Said Korra, pointing at the spherical shaped robot in Tulip’s arms.

“Hello!” One One said cheerfully.

“OK, well that's a little weird,” Said the boy. “Well, I guess I would be rude if I didn’t introduce myself too.” He then gave a small smile. “Nice to meet you guys. I’m Steven Universe.”

“Oh, great,” Tulip groaned, rolling her eyes. “Another weirdo with a weird name.”

At this, Korra spun round to face Tulip. “Knock it off, Tulip,” she said sternly with a frown, “What right do you have to judge?”

“Maybe because I’m the only here who’s actually normal?” Tulip replied with a frustrated frown and a flippant tone. Korra opened her mouth to retort, when they all paused as they heard a not too distant voice.

“That’s right. Step right up. There we go.” At the sound of the voice, Tulip turned on her heel and headed off up the small hill.

“Oh, come on, not again,” Groaned Korra, who was quickly losing patience with the hot tempered redhead. She, Sunset and Steven followed her up the hill, stopping where she had laid down on her front, looking over the top of the hill. They all stopped and stared at what they saw. Laid out in front of them, was… garbage. A pile of literal garbage, made of discarded junk and black garbage bags. But what was more surprising was what was in front of the garbage. There was a large blob of… water? It looked like it had eyes and a mouth. Sitting in front of the watery blob was a cream coloured cat, with yellow slit like eyes, and strangely, wearing a grey business-like waistcoat, a navy undershirt with a white collar, and a red tie.

“Say, I didn’t catch your name,” said the cat in the same voice they had heard.

“Randall,” said the water creature.

“That’s a strong name,” Said the cat in a flattering tone, “A strong name for a strong man.” Randall just stared at her blankly. “An affluent man such as yourself can turn his pile of junk in to donuts with this truly miraculous product,” the cat continued, before reaching behind her and producing a slightly rusty metal pipe, “The Donut Hoeler.”

“That kinda just looks like a pipe,” Said Tulip.

“That’s because it is a pipe,” Sunset said with a frown.

“She sounds like a con artist,” Korra said in agreement.

“I’ll demonstrate,” The cat went on, pulling over a piece of paper with her paw, holding up the pipe, and slamming it down into the middle of the paper, leaving a large hole in it. “Presto! Donut!” She said proudly, “This hat? Bon Appetit! Donut!” She went on, pulling over a hat and punching a whole through it as well. “Am I going too fast for you?” She asked, looking back up at Randall.

“I get to be in charge of selling these Donut Holers? I can start my own business?” Asked Randall in great interest, seeming to swell up with intrigue.

“Yes!” Said the cat with a sly tone, “Why, you could have a whole sales team selling these Donut Holers, with pioneers like us right at the top.”

“OK, is she for real?” asked Steven in confusion.

“Yeah, like a Pyramid scheme,” Said Randall.

“Don’t think of it so much as a Pyramid Scheme, as a Pyramid Team,” said the cat, “You don’t even know the best part,” she tossed the so called ‘Donut Hoeler’ at Randall, causing it to float inside his watery body, “This is the only Donut Hoeler certified by my close, personal,” she paused, narrowing her eyes and letting out a huff, “acquaintance, The Conductor.”

“Conductor?!” Tulip exclaimed as she got to her feet, placing One One in her backpack, and, yet again, dashing off ahead of everyone. “Hey!”

“Dang it, Tulip!” Korra shouted after her, before giving chase, Sunset and Steven following behind.

“Is she always like this?” Steven asked.

“This is more of a recent thing,” Sunset replied, “But yeah, pretty much.”

Tulip came to stop in front of the cat, placing her hands on her knees to catch her breath, before saying in a rambling, frantic voice, “I’m supposed to be going to Oshkosh, it’s this place in Wisconsin and also my name is Tulip, I should have said that earlier, but there’s a game design camp and my parents signed a contract and I ended up on this stupid train and I don’t won’t any of this!” She finally finished her rant as the cat stepped up to her.

“My goodness, kitten,” said the cat, “one step at a time.” Just then, Sunset and the others came up behind Tulip. “My, my, looks like we have a whole litter of kittens.”

Korra then stepped up beside Tulip. “OK, I know you're in a full on panic attack right now,” She said with a deep, frustrated frown, before she shouted, “But can you please stop running off?!”

Tulip, however, completely ignored her, as she showed her number to the cat. “My number keeps going down, and if it reaches 0 I’m done for," she said, before continuing in a desperate tone, “I just want to find a way off this train and you said you know the Conductor? You have to help me before I die?”

“Tell me, kitten,” said the cat, “What makes you think the digits below your digits are counting down to Ta Mort?”

“Huh?” Tulip asked, confused.

“She said ‘your death,’ Tulip,” Said Sunset.

“What's this,” Said the cat, looking at Sunset with an intrigued smile, “You speak French? Impressionnant!”

“Yeah, I kinda picked it up from a girl I knew who used French words all the time, and I learned it just so I would know what she was saying,” Sunset explained. “But, I digress,” She shrugged.

“Well, anyway, about my number,” Tulip said, drawing the cat’s attention.

“Oh, yes, pray tell,” She said, “Where did you hear that you would die if your number went all the way down?”

“Uh, One One told me,” Tulip said, pulling the little ball from her backpack, as the cat’s eyes widened in shock.

“Mum check!” said One One, narrowing his little eyes at the cat. “Hmm, much to fury. Or, not fury enough.”

“Mother check? C’est intéressant,” the cat said with a smile of great interest.

“Yeah, he’s looking for his mom,” Tulip said while rolling her eyes, “But, my number?”

“We’ll get there, patience,” Said the cat as she reached for the old hat and showed it to One One. “Excuse me white ball? Is this donut hat your mother?”

“Ummm, yes?” asked One One.

“Hm,” The cat said before holding up the hat above her head, “And, tell me, if I put this donut hat on my head, will I die?”

“Sure, why not,” One One said simply.

“Charming fellow, but not the most reliable, is he?” The cat said in conclusion.

“Wha?” Tulip said with an annoyed frown, “One One. You made me think I was going to die.”

“It would be surprising if you never died,” One One replied simply again.

“OK, that was randomly dark,” Said Steven with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah, you’ve not exactly been helpful in the last few cars, little guy,” Korra said with narrowed eyes.

“Ugh,” Tulip groaned, before rolling One One away like a bowling ball. He came to rest, literally, floating inside Randall’s watery body, along with the ‘Donut Hoeler’.

“I’m sure the conductor would be just as sympathetic to your plight,” said the cat as she wound her way between Tulips legs. “I’d rush off to see him right now but unfortunately my personal shuttlecraft has been grounded.”

“You have a shuttle craft?” Tulip asked.

“Why of course I do, kitten,” said the cat, “How else do you think I travel up and down such a vast train? Please, step this way?” She headed off, Tulip following behind. Korra and Sunset looked at each other before following after them as well, with Steven stepping up beside them.

Soon, they saw a small machine that looked like a glass ball surrounded by a metal lattice, standing on four metal legs. “A little beauty isn’t she?” Asked the cat with a hint of pride in her voice.

“Kinda small, isn’t it?” asked Sunset.

“It’s cat sized, mon ami,” replied the cat.

“Yeah, that was pretty obvious,” Steven said.

“Even I noticed that,” added Korra.

“I’d fix her myself, but, you know, no thumbs,” the cat said, holding up her paw to demonstrate her point.

“I have thumbs,” said Tulip, reaching down to pick up an instruction manual laying on the ground. “I don’t know anything about shuttle crafts, but, I fixed some stuff with my dad.”

“There’s still the issue of,” said the cat, before jumping up onto Tulip's shoulder, “my payment.”

“Payment?” asked Tulip.

“Whoa, whoa, hold on,” Sunset interrupted, “What’s this about payment?”

“Mon ami, I’m a busy feline, and I have a business to run,” said the cat, “besides, even with my craft, it will take a week, maybe two, to get to the Conductor. That’s a lot of sales I’m missing out on.”

“I have,” Tulip said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out some money, “$12 and 42c, but one of the pennies is Canadian.”

“I’m afraid, kitten, that you will find that money has no real value here Le Train,” Said the cat, “Besides, I’ve always been more interested in the peculiar and unique. You know, I could take the little white ball off your hands. In exchange, I will speak to the conductor about getting you to... where was it again?” Wis-con-sin?” she finished slowly, jumping off her shoulder and on top of the shuttlecraft and turning to face her.

“One One?” Tulip asked in surprise. “You want to take One One with you?”

“What?!” Sunset said in shock, “Tulip, you can't seriously be thinking of selling One One to her, right?”

“I didn’t think it would come to that, but…” she trailed off as she looked back at One One, who was standing next to Randall, holding the Donut Hoeler.

“Miss Tulip,” He shouted happily, “We made so many Donuts!” He held up a leaflet for the game design camp Tulip was going to, which had a perfectly round hole in the middle of it. This caused Tulip to grunt in annoyance.

“I kinda agree with her, Sunset,” Korra said with a frown. “The little ball hasn’t exactly been that helpful.”

“But, Korra,” Sunset tried to argue.

“I don’t wanna sound like the bad guy, but,” put in Steven, “If the little guy is in her care, doesn’t that make it her decision?”

“But friends don’t sell their friends!” shouted Sunset, but she was clearly outnumbered. She clenched her fists and growled in frustration. “Ugh! Fine! Be that way!” She crossed her arms and turned her back to them, before stomping away in frustration.

“So, like I was saying,” said the cat, “Do you really need the little white ball, or do you want to get off this train?”

Looking down at One One, and then over at Sunset as she retreated, Tulip knelt down and held out her hand to shake the cat’s paw. “Deal,” she said in agreement.

After this, Tulip set to work on the shuttlecraft, while Steven was talking to the cat.

“So, my fine young friend, what fine item can I provide for you?” The cat asked in her best business person voice.

“Do you have a ukulele?” Steven asked simply.

“A U-ku-le-le?” The cat asked slowly, tilting her head sideways. “I’m afraid you’ll have to ask for something else. Maybe this might interest you.” She held up a long pole with a hook in the shape of a hand. “Might I interest you in this severed hand on a stick? It’s good for reaching those hard to reach places.”

Steven cringed. “Uhh, that’s just a backscratcher,” He said uncomfortably. “And it’s probably been used. Uhhh,” he said with a shudder.

While this was going on, Korra was walking over to where a still angry Sunset sat on the ground, her legs pulled against her chest, and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, while she rested her head on her knees. She stopped beside her and looked down at the fiery haired girl with worried eyes. “Are you OK, Sunset?” she asked softly.

“What do you think?” Sunset said rhetorically, without looking at her.

Korra sighed, before sitting down next to Sunset. “You know, this isn’t going to help anyone, this mood of yours.”

“What do you know about it?” Sunset asked in a grouchy voice.

“I understand where you’re coming from about One One,” Korra continued, “but the way I see it, this is the best way for us to get off this train faster. We need to reach the Conductor, and the cat says she can get us there faster, but even then, she said it would take up to two weeks to reach the engine. How much time do you think it would take for us to get there on our own? Weeks? Months? Maybe even years? And let’s not forget, some of the cars we’ve been through weren’t just simply puzzles. Some of them were dangerous.”

“So you just want to give One One away to some stranger we only just met because you trust her word over someone who’s supposed to be your friend?” Sunset asked in a low voice, but with a hint of bitterness.

“We don’t have a choice, Sunset,” Korra said, “Why do you care so much about this anyway? It’s not like One One is real.”

“What makes you think he’s not real?” Sunset said, lifting her head to look at Korra, her eyes narrowed and filled with anger. “Is he not real just because he’s made of metal and plastic and wires and circuits and whatever else? That little guy was willing to help us reach the engine no matter how long it took. So what if he screws up sometimes, so what if he gets mixed up with his split personality? One One was our friend, and you don’t just turn your back on your friends. And you want to do just that by giving him away to someone who, let remind you, you said yourself, was a con artist. You don’t sell your friends to con artists.” Her face scrunched up even more as her anger grew, and she went on to say, “and you don’t just abandon your friends either, not when you get accused of something said friends should have known she would never do, not after everything said friend had done to prove her sincerity and make up for her mistakes, even though the evidence points to said friend being the culprit, they still should have trusted said friend enough to take her word over the word of a bunch of complete strangers!”

After Sunset was done with her rant, Korra stared at her with wide eyes for a moment, before saying quietly, “You're not just talking about One One, are you?”

As if realising what she had let slip out, Sunset looked away from Korra, staying quiet.

“I’m right, aren't I?” Korra pressed her. When Sunset stayed silent, Korra sighed heavily. “Alright, I get it, you don’t want to talk about right now, but when you do, I’ll be here to listen, OK.” Korra then looked across to where Tulip was underneath the shuttlecraft, doing her best to repair it. A melancholic look crossed her face. “You know, right now, Tulip reminds me of this friend of mine from back home. She was an incredible engineer, she could build or fix just about anything. I bet she could fix that thing in no time.” She then sighed again. “You know, thinking about that, just makes me think about… how much I miss her.”

While Korra was talking, Sunset had turned her head to look at her, only for eyes to widen in shock as she noticed something. “Korra!” she called out, “Korra, look! Your number!”

“What?” Korra asked, before looking down at her hand, her own eyes going wide in shock. “My number’s gone down?!” Indeed, her number had dropped to 245! “Why has it gone down?!”

“How should I know?!” Sunset exclaimed. “We need to show this to Tulip!” They quickly got up and headed back over to Tulip.

Tulip was still working on the shuttlecraft, when One One came rolling up to her. “Miss Tulip? How tall are you?” He asked innocently.

“Uh, I’m about-” Tulip started to answer before she interrupted.

“What is your hair?” One One asked again, picking a few strands of her ponytail.

“How am I supposed to answer that?” Tulip asked as she went to her work.

“Is your name Tulip because you have a bulbous head?” One One asked for a third time.

“What? No,” Tulip said, “It was when I was born. There were… complications.”

“(Gasp) Oh no! Did you make it alive?” One One asked in worry.

“Uh, yeah,” Tulip replied slowly. “It was some kind of breathing issue. But I bounced back like a ‘perennial flower’ or something. At least, that’s what my mom told me.” she finished with a smile.

“So, you could have been after any perennial plant? Like, horseradish?” asked the cat, scrunching up her face in distaste.

“No!” Tulip said, “I don’t know. I didn’t name me.”

"Look Miss Tulip," said One One happily as he plucked a flower, jumped up on her shoulder, and put the flower in behind her ear. “It’s you.”

“That’s a daisy,” Tulip said with a frown. She placed One One back on the ground and read the manual again. “I may not know what anything does, but, there is a gear thing here that isn’t in there. Do you know where we can get a replacement?”

“Ooh, I know, I know,” said Randall.

Seeing the way things were going, Sunset and Korra looked at each other. “We’ll tell her later,” Sunset whispered. Korra nodded in agreement.

Randall led the girls out onto the beach, where, to the girls and Steven's astonishment, the waters literally lifted and parted, revealing what was literally a small, underwater city, with buildings made out of sand, seaweed and seashells.

"I've seen this done way better," Steven muttered with a nonchalant shrug.

“I bet I could do that,” Korra muttered to herself quietly, “before I got tired.”

“What did you say?” asked Sunset.

“Uh, nothing,” said Korra quickly, before she, along with Sunset and the others followed Randell into the little underwater world.

They walked through a market, which was inhabited by watery creatures just like Randall, going about their business, selling all kinds of things. “Welcome to the Market,” said Randall, “soak up your troubles. Metal squirt attack got you down? Shop your cares away. Put a little wiggle in your step.”

They soon reached a small shop with the name Gears Of Joy, where Tulip placed One One on the counter. “Da, da da da, daaa!” One One sang, doing a little dance.

“Oh, very cute,” said the water creature behind the counter. He wore an opened shell, making it look he was wearing a bow tie.

“I think she’s cute too,” Said One One happily, looking up at Tulip.

Tulip groaned, before looking up the shop owner and asking, “How, uh, how much for that gear over there?” She gestured to a gear by the shop entrance, which the cat was sitting next to.

“Ah, expensive taste,” said the shop owner, “Hold the sponge, now that's a handsome looking flower.” Tulip looked at the flower behind her ear.

“You mean my personal heartfelt gift that I picked out for my personal heartfelt friend?” One One asked.

“Ah, sounds valuable,” he replied.

“Oh, I mean it’s not really for sale,” said Tulip hesitantly.

“Too late,” said the shop owner, “now that I’ve seen it, it’s the only thing I want.”

“Oh, the price we pay for the things we desire most,” said the cat in a knowing, smug voice.

After a brief moment of staring at the shop owner's blank face, Tulip groaned in frustration. “Ugh, fine! Just take it!” she snapped, grabbing the flower and slamming down on the counter. She went to pick up One One, but Sunset beat her to it, grabbing One One up into her arms and carrying him out of the shop with a glare back at Tulip.

“My mechanical heart breaks again,” Said One One from within Sunset’s arms, “I hope the warranty is still good.”

“It’s OK,” Sunset said with a sweet smile, “I still love you.” She lifted him to her face, nuzzling him with her cheek and giving him a light peck.

“Stop, you’re smothering me again,” One One complained. Despite everything, Korra couldn't help smiling at the cute moment.

Outside the train car, Tulip put the new gear into place, and the shuttlecraft sprang into life.

“Shall we?” asked the cat as she hopped aboard.

Off to the side, Sunset couldn't even watch as she heard Tulip sigh and say, “Well, One One, this is goodbye.”

“A new adventure. Where shall we meet again?” Said One One in his usual happy but naïve tone. Hearing this almost broke Sunset’s heart.

“We shan’t meet again,” Korra said bluntly. That made Sunset scowl.

“I’m… we’re leaving the train,” Tulip went on hesitantly. “We can’t take you with us, but, you’ll be with the cat now, and, she seems nice.”

“Oh,” One One said softly, “If it helps you on your journey, I understand.” He walked over to where the cat was leaning out of the craft.

“Sit tight, and I’ll have the conductor sort out this whole mess,” she said, before closing the front of the craft, One One at her side, and it shifted into motion, shooting it’s stand across into a huge groove that went up the side of the next car, before it launch it self over to it and began traveling up the side of the car.

The door popped open again as One One climbed onto the rim. “Goodbye forever, Miss Tulip!” He called out. Tulip could only look on with a guilty, sad face until he was out of site.

Back inside the Beach Car, Tulip slumped down on the shore, resting her head on her knees, wallowing in her misery. She wasn’t allowed to wallow for long, as a shadow fell over her, causing her to look up, seeing Sunset standing over her, as she looked down with narrowed eyes and her arms crossed.

“I hope you're happy with yourself,” She said with a cold tone, before turning and marching away.

“So, you want to help me look through the trash to find a ukulele?” Steven asked Korra, breaking the awkward moment.

“Uhh, sure,” Korra said slowly, before following the dark haired boy over to the trash pile. “What’s a ukulele?”

A bit of time passed, before Korra headed over to where Sunset was sitting, looking forlorn. “Hey, guess what,” she said as she sat down next to her, “we actually found a ukulele for Steven. He’s tuning it up right now.”

“That’s nice,” Sunset muttered so quietly, Korra almost didn’t hear her.

Korra just sighed. “Look, Sunset, I know you're upset about what happened with One One, but… what is Tulip doing inside Randall?”

“look, Korra, I’m not… wait what?” Sunset said as she looked up… and stared in bewilderment as she saw Tulip, being carried by Randall, zip away from them and out the Train Car door.

Right after that, Steven came walking up to them, with his now perfectly tuned ukulele, and starred in the same direction as the girls. “Uh, did she just ditch us?” He asked.

Sunset just scowled. “I knew it,” She said bitterly, “another so-called friend who ditched me.”

“We don’t know that for sure, Sunset,” Korra said.

“Well, what are we supposed to do?” Sunset argued. “Just sit here and wait for our so-called friend to come back?”

“We can’t just go on without her, Sunset,” Korra tried to reason. “What do you say, Steven?”

“I only just met her today, so I don’t really know enough about her to say anything,” Steven said.

“Well that’s just great,” Sunset growled, before walking off and sitting down again.

Korra just sighed, before sitting on the ground as well. Time passed in silence, no one saying or doing anything, except Steven as he tuned his ukulele absentmindedly, despite having already tuned it just right.

Eventually, Korra looked up, and her eyes widened in surprise, as Randall returned, with Tulip riding him once more. She got up and dashed over to the red head as she passed through Randall and back onto her feet. “Hi, I’m back,” Tulip said with a remorseful look. “Look, sorry if it looks like I ditched you guys, but I just had something super important I needed to do.” She then reached into her bag, and what she pulled out was One One.

“Hello again!” The little ball chirped, “Yeah, I came back, don’t make a big deal about it.”

“One One?!” Sunset shouted in shock, as she came running up as well upon hearing his voices.

“Yeah, I went to get him back,” Tulip said with regret in her voice, “You were right, Sunset. I shouldn't have just given him away like that, just because I wanted to get off the train so badly. One One is our friend, and friends don’t leave friends behind. I’m really sorry.”

Sunset gave a small smile, and placed her hand on Tulip’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, too,” she said, “I shouldn’t have let my own feelings get the better of me. And don’t worry, I forgive you.” Tulip gave a small smile of her own.

As Sunset pulled back her hand, Tulip looked at it and gasped. “Sunset, look at your number!” she exclaimed.

“What?” Sunset said, before looking at her palm and gasping in shock. Her number had gone down now as well to 115!

“Speaking of numbers, look at this,” said Korra, showing Tulip her own number.

“Both of your numbers went down, too?!” Tulip exclaimed.

“Yeah, we were going to tell you, but then, well, you know,” said Korra a little hesitantly.

“Hey, at least you can say you're not alone in this, right?” Sunset said with a reassuring smile.

“No, I guess not,” Tulip admitted, before looking up at both girls with a determined smile. “Come on, let’s get off this train.”

The other two girls nodded with smiles of their own, and were about to leave, before Korra turned back to look at Steven, who was still sitting on the ground, strumming listlessly away on his ukulele. “Hey, wanna come with us?” she asked.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?” he asked as he looked up them from his strumming.

“Of course not,” Sunset said, as she gave him a smile. “No one wants to be alone, right?”

“Just say yes already,” Said One One from Tulip’s shoulder.

Steven smiled and stood up. “OK, sure, why not,” he said, “I guess we’re all heading the same way, anyway.”

With that said, the group finally left the Beach Car and moved on to the next Car, continuing their long journey to the engine.

To Be Continued...

Chapter 4: The Corgi Car

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In the latest train car, which consisted of nothing but what looked like the night sky, and was filled with lots of different musical instruments which hung seemingly from midair, with a long winding path that looked like the keys of a piano, Tulip stared down at the number on her palm. “Still 109,” She said with a heavy sigh as she glared down at her glowing green number 109, “It’s been a week! Why won’t you change?!”

“Look, Tulip,” Sunset said firmly but gently as she came up behind the irate redhead, and placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, “Obsessing over your number is not going to help you.”

“Sunset’s right,” Korra agreed, “The Conductor is probably the only person who can help us with this whole Number problem.”

“That is,” Steven added in a worried voice, “if we ever find him.”

“Oh, are we stopping to talk to our hands, now?” One One chirped. “Hello, hands!” He said happily, as she waved one of his tiny mechanical legs. “Wait,” He then pondered. “Do I even have hands?”

“Ugh,” Tulip grunted, “That cat wasted time I could have used getting off the train.” She grabbed the straps of her backpack as she declared, “From now, we’re not stopping for anything!” She then walked up to the edge of the ledge on which they stood, and knelt down into a starting position. “Alright, One One. Time me! Ready!”

“Set!” One One chimed as he split in two.

“Tulip, what are you doing?” Sunset asked.

“What does it look like?” Tulip said back, “I’m making up for lost time!” She then waited with a determined smile for a moment, before it became neutral, and then slipped into a frown. “Eh hem!” she said firmly.

“Eh..uhh...go,” One One said distractedly, and Tulip took off at a jog, with One One quickly rolling after her, the piano keys lighting up and chiming musically as she went.

“Ugh, not again!” Korra exclaimed in frustration, before she took off running after the young Red-Head. “Tulip, get back here!”

“Of course,” Sunset said with a roll of her eyes, before she grabbed Steven’s hand and dragged him along behind her as she also started running down the piano path. “Hey, wait for us!”

“Whoa! Whoa! Take it easy!” Steven exclaimed, as he was dragged helplessly behind the amber skinned girl.

As Tulip ran along the path of piano keys, One One hopped from one floating instrument to another. “Look at me, I’m a musical genius!” He sang cheerfully, as the others tried to keep up with the two of them, as Tulip slid down to the other end of the path and dashed to the Train Car door, flung it open, and ran across to the next car, looking down at her hand as she went. She grunted in annoyance as her Number stubbornly remained at 109.

She ran on, flinging open the door to the next car, and halted in her tracks as she was faced by...ducks! A car full of ducks. Plain white ducks piled on top of each other, and taking up the entire space of the car, quaking continuously and loudly.

Tulip then frowned with determination as she entered the room and pushed, shoved, and waded her way through all the ducks. “Bwah! So many Ducks!”

As she shoved the ducks aside, one of them actually spoke. “Can you help me find my normal eyes?” it asked in a goofy voice.

“Sorry, no time!” Tulip said, grabbing the duck and tossing it aside as she pushed on, before finally bursting out the next car door, falling to her knees. Letting out a huff, she looked at her hand again, her number still at 109.

Just then, one by one, Sunset and the others spilled out of the car, gasping for breath, before they got back to their feet. “A duck car? Are you kidding me?!” Sunset said with annoyance.

“So...many...feathers,” Korra spluttered, as she brushed herself down to get rid of the feathers that were clinging to her.

“You can say that again,” Steven said, just as Tulip got up and took off running once more.

“I am getting really tired of this girl,” Korra said through gritted teeth, as she carried after Tulip. “Tulip, when I get my hands on you!”

Sunset looked at Steven as she rolled her eyes, before they both headed off together.

Tulip shoved her way into the next car, stepping right into a...party? A party with all sorts of strange creatures.

“Mash with us!” one of the monstrous guests said.

“Sorry, no time!” Tulip said hurriedly as she pushed her way forward, running along the top of a table and causing a mess as she went.

“So sorry about her!” Korra exclaimed as she rushed past the shocked party guests, Sunset and Steven right behind her.

Tulip burst out of the next car door, looking at her hand once more as she ran on, but before she could get much further, she was halted in her tracks when Korra grabbed her by the arms, and held her tight against her front. “Hey, let me go!” Tulip snapped in frustration. “I’m trying to save time here!”

“Will you just hold still for a minute!” Korra snapped back in a reprimanding tone. “When are you going to get it that we need to stick together?!”

“I don’t have time!” Tulip said, as she struggled to break free of the older girl's grip.

“We want to get off the train as much as you do,” Sunset said with a frown. “But that doesn’t mean you have to just recklessly rush straight through everything.”

“Oh, come on, how are you guys gonna lose me?” Tulip argued, as she finally got Korra to let go of her, and carried on ahead at a walk. “We’re on a train, and we’re all going in the same direction, because there’s literally only one direction to go.”

“That’s not the point, Tulip,” Steven said with a shake of his head. “In a situation like this, it’s better to stick together.”

“I’m not going to waste time waiting for you guys to just slow me down,” Tulip said in frustration as she reached the door of the next car and reached for the handles to open it. “The less time wasted on this Train the better.” She shoved the doors open and dashed inside. The others all rolled their eyes and groaned in annoyance, before giving chase to the hot tempered redhead once more.

Inside the new train car, the interior resembled that of an ancient temple, but before any of them could take in their surroundings, the irate redhead ran on ahead, forcing them to keep chasing her. However, this didn’t last long, as Tulip leapt down a set of old stone stairs, and her foot landed on stone tile, pushing it into the floor like a switch, and a loud rumbling sound was heard from behind them. They turned to look, before running for their lives as a large round boulder came rolling after them.

“A big rolling boulder?!” Sunset exclaimed in disbelief. “How cliché!”

“Not the time!” Korra said.

They ran on until Tulip’s foot triggered another booby trap, forcing them all to duck as a spear was launched into the opposite wall. Leaning against the wall was a skeleton in ragged clothes.

“Got the time?” He asked, holding up his bony arms, and pointing at his bare wrist.

“No time!” Tulip shouted as she sprinted past.

“You’re telling me. I’m dead!” The skeleton said as the others ran past, not even bothering to look at him, before he was run over by the boulder, falling to pieces.

As the group ran down the narrow passageway, they spotted the car door up ahead, which was on the other side of a pit, and the stone path ended in a slight ramp. It looked like their only way across would be to jump, but then Steven spotted a vine hanging from the ceiling.

“Grab the vine!” He shouted. Running up the ramp, they all jumped, grabbed the vine, and swung across just in time as the boulder rolled up the ramp and was flung across after them. They let go of the vine, fell to the ledge on the other side, before barrel rolling and skidding through the doors. Finally, they slammed the doors shut behind them, and collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.

Once they had regained their breath, they all got back to their feet, and everyone else glared at Tulip in frustration and annoyance.

“You see, Tulip?” Steven began. “This is why we don’t just go charging ahead.”

“Yeah, Tulip!” Korra snapped angrily. “Steven’s right! We almost died back there because of you!”

“That wasn’t my fault!” Tulip shot back. “How was I supposed to know there was a giant boulder in there that would have squashed us into pancakes?!”

“That’s just the point!” Korra ranted. “You didn’t know, none of us did, but you just charged straight in on there anyway!”

“And don’t forget, you were the one who set off that booby trap in the first place!” Steven added.

“Well, excuse me for not looking where I put my feet!” Tulip shouted back rudely.

“Alright, enough!” Shouted Sunset firmly as she stood in the middle of the quarrelling trio. “Just standing around yelling at each other isn’t going to get us off this Train any faster.” She turned to look at Tulip. “Tulip, I know how desperate you are to get off the Train and get back to your regular life, but simply powering through every obstacle in your way will only put you on the fast track to getting yourself killed.”

She then looked at Korra and Steven. “Korra, Steven, I know you’re both angry at Tulip for always rushing ahead, but all we’ve shown her since we met is anger. Is it any wonder she’s so willing to just leave us behind?” After a moment of awkward silence, Sunset went on, “OK, so how about from now on we keep moving along the train together as a group?” She then looked sternly at Tulip. “No more powering recklessly ahead,” she turned back to Korra and Steven, “and no more yelling. OK?”

The others all took a moment to consider Sunset’s words, before looking at each other sheepishly. “OK, I’m sorry for rushing on ahead,” Tulip said with a heavy sigh.

“And I’m sorry for always yelling at you,” Korra said with regret in her voice. “I’ve kind of always had anger issues.”

“Yeah, and I’m sorry too,” Steven said softly. “I’m not usually the kind of person to get so mad at someone.”

“Alright, so we’re all good now?” Sunset asked, and the others nodded. “Good. Now, let's keep moving, and this time, I’ll go first.” She then led the group across the walkway to the next car. Once she reached the door, she turned the handles to open it, and they all pushed their way inside, closing the door behind them.

Once they had closed the door, they all gazed in wonder and astonishment at the new train car’s interior. They were standing in what appeared to be a vast green field, surrounded by tall mountains, and covered by lots of small rocks and stones. On top of one of the rocks was a large wooden, ornately decorated horn. There were also many ancient Roman or Greek buildings scattered all over the landscape, like a small settlement. But what really caught their attention was that the car was inhabited by lots of little…

“Awww, puppies!” Exclaimed Korra with glee as stars danced in her eyes.

“Awww, they’re so cute,” Sunset said with a big smile.

“That’s a lot of dogs,” Steven said with a raised eyebrow.

“Look! More weird furry ducks!” Chirped One One happily.

“What do you even call this car, The Dog Car?” Tulip asked as she looked all around, before briefly checking her hand. It still said 109.

Just then, they all looked up as one of the dogs sounded the large horn that was perched on the rock, and all the dogs leaned down in a bow. They watched as a small set of steps, being held by a dog on each corner, was carried towards them. The steps had an ornate red carpet running up them, and on top of the steps, sitting on a very comfortable looking red cushion, was yet another dog, wearing a small crown. This dog was a corgi, with the classic white underbelly, blonde-amber fur on top, white paws, and a white tip on his tail.

“Salutations, 2 legged strangers and loud ball-creature!” He said grandly as they approached. “Welcome to Corginia!”

“Well I feel welcomed,” Smiled Sunset.

“I am Atticus,” The crowned corgi introduced himself as they came to a stop in front of the group. “King and Uniter of the Cardigans and the Pembrokes. I extend to you my greetings,” he finished with a respectful bow.

“Hi, I’m Tulip,” Tulip said with a small wave. “I like…books?”

“Greetings, Tulip The Literate,” Atticus said welcomingly, before turning to the rest of the group. “And who might you all be, my welcome visitors?”

“Hi, I’m Steven,” Steven said. “I...sometimes enjoy playing music.”

“Greetings to you, Steven The Musician,” Atticus said with a bow of his head.

“I’m Korra, and I like, um, lots of excitement,” said Korra with a smile.

“And a hearty welcome to you, Korra The Adventuress,” Atticus said cheerfully.

“Hi, I’m Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset said, smiling so hard she looked almost ready to burst. “And I hope to make friends with you and all of your cute subjects.”

“Well, an extra big welcome to you, Sunset Shimmer The Friendly,” Atticus said in a very pleased voice. “Now, let me show you all my kingdom.”

“Uhh, no, it’s OK, we’re all kind of in a rush here, so,-” Tulip tried to object.

“And so commences the official tourginia of Corginia,” Atticus said proudly, cutting her off.

“Well, I guess this is unavoidable,” Sunset said with a shrug, as the dog on top of the rock once again blew the horn.

“Does he do that every chance he gets?” Steven asked.

“Oh yes,” said Atticus, “he simply loves it.”

Toot! The dog went as he gave the horn another quick blow.

“Talk about tooting your own horn,” Korra said with a smirk, causing the others to groan at the bad pun. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” she said, her smirk never faltering.

The group was now being led by Atticus through the grass covered streets of Corginia, and at least a dozen other corgis were surrounding the group, jumping up and barking excitedly.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, down, get down!” Tulip said, trying to ward them off to no avail.

“Awww, so many fluffy heads to pet. If only I had more than two hands,” Sunset said gleefully as she tried petting all of the excitable corgis at her feet at once. “Who’s a good boy? Who's a good boy?” She cooed as one of the corgis rolled over so she could rub its belly.

“You want this? Go get it!” Steven said, throwing a dog toy, and the corgis following him chased after it.

Then, they all stopped and stared as a group of corgis came walking past, carrying a reclining Korra on their backs, who had her arms and legs outstretched, like a crawling starfish.

“Take me away my four legged companions,” she said in a happy, serene voice, and with a happy, relaxed smile on her face.

“Well, it is most pleasing to see that at least two of you are real dog lovers,” Atticus said.

“Uh yeah, I’m not exactly in the mood for showing unconditional love to a fluffy animal right now,” Tulip muttered.

“And I’m more of a cat person,” Steven added, “especially since I don’t have a pet dog, I have a pet lion at home.”

“Wha?” Tulip said, looking dubiously at Steven.

“Please excuse us,” Atticus said, “It’s been so long since we last had a visitor, and we get rather excited when someone new comes through the door.”

“Oh, I don’t mind them being excited at all,” Sunset said happily as she kept on making a fuss of the all corgis vying for her attention.

As they walked, Tulip looked all around at her, observing the corgis as they went about their carefree lives. “Food dispensers, belly rub machines, gift of speech,” she said in an impressed voice. “You guys are doing pretty well for yourselves,” she said to Atticus.

“Wow, this is my first time being nauseous!” One One chirped as a bunch of corgis ran past, tossing the little white sphere around like in a game of catch. “Please, make it stop?!”

“Hey, Atticus?” Sunset asked as she knelt down to keep petting the dogs, “how many of you little guys are there in Corginia?”

“We are 400 strong,” Atticus said proudly, “and 399 cute.”

“You sure got the cute part right,” Sunset smiled as she laid down on her front, and the dogs gathered around her and began licking her face, causing her to giggle. “Hehe, hey, cut it out guys, that tickles.”

“Uh, if there’s 400 of you, what do you mean you’re 399 cute?” Steven asked.

“Let’s just say we don’t talk about Ugly Erwin,” Atticus said in a low voice, before gesturing over to a nearby hill, where, standing in the sunlight from above, was a tall, magnificent blonde furred dog, with his held high, and his fluffy chest puffed out proudly. His ears and tail seemed to be blowing gracefully in the breeze.

“Wow,” Sunset breathed in awe, her eyes filled with stars once more. “Majestic.”

“Eh,” Korra said nonchalantly, “I prefer Naga.”

“Ugh,” Atticus shuddered in disgust. “Anyway, moving past that unpleasantness, can I offer any of you a sunbeam to lay in?” He gestured with his paw over to where a few other dogs were lying lazily in round patches of sunlight.

Korra, with a dreamy smile on her face, flopped down onto her back. “Take me to the sunbeam my furry minions,” she ordered, and the dogs flocked to her, picked her up, and carried her over to the nearest sunbeam.

“Wow,” Steven said, “she really is a dog person.”

“Obviously a young lady of refined taste,” Atticus said in a pleased tone.

“And I thought I was a dog person,” Sunset said, before she looked around her. “Hey, where’s One One?”

One One, as it turned out, was in the sunbeam where Korra was laying with her new corgi ‘minions’. “Enjoy the sun while you can,” He said ominously, “It’s going to burn out one day, and there will only be darkness.” The poor dog whimpered in fright as it slowly backed away from the little white orb.

“OK, OK, this place is cool and everything,” Tulip put in, “But can you please tell us where the exit to the car is? We’re kind of in a hurry here.”

“I’m not,” Korra said calmly from her sunbeam, “I don’t want to go anywhere just yet. I can’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed.” At that moment, the ground beneath them shook, and Korra sat up in shock. “OK, relaxation time over,” she said in alarm.

They looked out across a flowing river, and from the top of a not too distant mountain, where the river flowed down from the top, a large shadow, made up of what seemed to be tentacles, came looming over the top of the hill, even covering the low hanging clouds.

“Yay! A shadow puppet!” One One cheered. “Look, I can make an eagle.” He crossed his front legs in front of him.

“Uhh, what’s that?” Sunset asked nervously.

“The Monster,” said Atticus darkly, as the water from the river rose, turning into a flood, as all the corgis turned in panic and ran for cover. “Quickly, friends, to the temple!” Sunset grabbed up One One, and they all ran through what was basically a dog flap inside the nearest building, with Sunset and the others having to kneel down since the building was obviously corgi sized. “I regret to say that there are certain things I did not tell you about Corginia,” Atticus said as soon as they were inside.

“OK, so what exactly was that thing, and what’s going on here, Atticus?” asked Korra.

“Like I already said, that thing out there was the monster,” Atticus said grimly, “and every time it makes its presence known, the waters will rise and ruin our city.”

“Haven’t you ever thought of going out to face it together?” Sunset asked. “Maybe you could fight it off.”

“Impossible,” Atticus replied. “The water is a harrowing 2 metres in depth. If we even attempted to cross it, we would surely drown.”

“2 metres?” Tulip asked in a deadpan voice, “that’s it?”

“Tulip, don’t forget,” Korra said warningly, before picking up one of the dogs and cuddling it. “They’re just little babies,” she finished with a pouting puppy face.

“Do you think it's still out there?” Asked Steven nervously.

“I’ll go and check,” One One said, before he split into his two halves, and the happy One ran outside.

“Looks I’ll have to start writing his obituary,” the sad One said, as he pulled up a piece of paper and a pen that were lying on the ground.

“Awfully morbid little thing, aren’t you,” remarked Atticus.

“Yes.”

“Ahhh!” Screamed One as he appeared back at the dog flap.

“What is it One One?” Sunset asked in alarm.

“The monster is gone! I’m excited! Ahhh!” One cried out in his happy way, and everyone groaned.

“Come on, let's get going?” Sunset said as she led the rest of the group back outside, only to duck back inside and see that Atticus hadn’t moved. “Don't you want to come outside?” she asked.

“Yes,” Atticus said.

“Outside?” Sunset asked again.

“No,” Atticus hesitated.

“Outside?”

“Well…”

“Outside?”

“Maybe…” Atticus said as he tapped his front paws anxiously.

“You want to go outside right now?” Sunset went on playfully, “You want to do it? You want to go outside, boy?”

“Yes, I want to go outside,” Atticus finally said as he dashed outside. Sunset could only giggle as she followed after him.

Back outside, Atticus showed them one of the now flooded areas of Corginia, with most of the buildings almost completely submerged under water. “One week ago this was the dog-partment of water and power, and now it's just the dog-partment of water and water,” he explained grimly as he hung his head.

“All of this started a week ago?” Sunset asked. “Isn’t that when our Numbers last went down?”

“I think so,” Korra replied thoughtfully, before she looked at Sunset in realisation. “You don’t think that maybe…?”

“Maybe that monster is related to our Numbers?” Tulip said with excitement. “Maybe if we can stop it and reach the exit door…”

“It’ll help us get off the Train?” Steven finished with a dubious look.

“Oh, we’re off to see the shadow monster? Yay!” One One cheered. “It probably has no connection to anything. Just saying.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Sunset said. “Let’s get moving. We won’t find out until we see this thing for ourselves.”

“Wait, friends,” Atticus said, as he dashed in front of them. “You will need my help if you intend to leave. The exit is blocked by the unsolvable puzzle door. Plus it's too dangerous.”

“Dangerous,” Korra smirked. “You should see some of the things I've fought against back home. I’m not scared.”

“Nevertheless, as long as you are all willing to fight for my people, I cannot stand idly by,” Atticus insisted, before walking up to Sunset. “Sunset, I don’t usually beg unless its for a tasty, tasty treat, but I must ask that you take me with you so I can help save Corginia?”

Sunset didn’t even need to think about her answer. “If it’s to help save your kingdom and your people, of course you can come with us, Atticus,” she said with a smile.

“Excellent,” Atticus said as he turned and walked to the water's edge. “However, I must warn you all that we corgis are a proud people, and we do not enjoy being picked up.”

“Why would you need to warn us about that?” Steven asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t worry guys,” Korra said as she stepped towards Atticus, “I got this.”

“Seriously, why do we need to know this?” Steven insisted.

“Whoa, whoa, take it easy!” Korra exclaimed as Atticus writhed, wriggled and barked in her arms as they walked across the river. “Just stay calm, now, just stay calm, we’re almost there.”

“So that’s why,” Steven murmured as he, Tulip and Sunset trailed behind them.

“He really wasn’t kidding about not liking being picked up,” added Sunset with a slight frown.

Once they reached the other side of the river, Atticus leapt out of Korra’s arms and ran on ahead, leading them on an eventful journey up the mountain.

When they finally reached the top, they all took a moment to catch their breaths.

“Oh man, I didn’t think all that would happen on the way up here,” Sunset groaned.

“I know, who’d have thought we would walk under a cloud where it was snowing in only that spot?” Korra said as she wiped her brow.

“Or that the sun would move back and forth across the sky,” Steven added.

“Hey guys, look!” Tulip said excitedly, “There’s the door!” She pointed across the small clearing where they were, and embedded into the side of the mountain was indeed the exit door.

“OK, everybody, head for the door, but stay alert for anything,” Sunset told the others, and they all walked cautiously towards the door. As they approached it, the large shadow they had seen suddenly loomed overhead.

“Look out!” Cried Tulip, and they all ran for cover behind a nearby rock. After a moment, they all peeked out from behind the rock to see what the monster was doing, only to stare in confusion at what they saw.

“Wait a minute,” Sunset said as she stepped out from behind the rock and approached a nearby bush, where the shadow was being projected from. Nestled inside the bush was a glowing bluish green orb. Next to the bush was a tree, and hanging from a branch over the orb, dangling from a thin piece of silk, was the source of the shadow, which was…

“Aw, here’s our monster,” Sunset said with a relieved smile, “it’s just a little spider.” She pulled the spider from the branch with her finger, and let it dangle there from the thin string. “Aww, she’s just building her little spider web,” she cooed, before gasping in horrified shock as Atticus jumped up…and ate the spider! He chewed noisily as Sunset just stared down at him in despair, before her face twisted in anger. “Atticus! Why’d you do that?! Bad dog!”

“We have vanquished the monster,” Atticus said triumphantly, before muttering, “I thought victory would taste less musty.” He then looked at the fast flowing river next to them. “Hmm, I also thought the water level would go down.”

“Yeah, that certainly hasn’t changed,” Korra muttered.

“But maybe our Numbers-” Tulip said as she checked her hand, only to stop as she saw her Number was still 109. She looked around hopefully at the others, only for all of them to hold up their hands, showing that all of their Numbers still hadn’t changed either. As she stomped away in a huff, venting her frustration about being stuck onboard the Train, Sunset looked curiously at the sphere in the bush.

“Now, what are you, exactly?” She wondered, gazing at the glowing orb that had caused them such a fright.

“What are you looking at, Miss Sunset?” One One asked as he scuttled up to her. “Are you looking at the remains of the spider's web you so casually destroyed when you picked it up, only for it to be eaten moments later?”

“As dark and morbid as that is, no,” Sunset replied with a groan, “I was examining this glowing orb. What even is it? Why’s it here? It just feels so…out of place, don’t you think?” At these words, everyone walked up to her to see the orb for themselves.

“I gotta admit, she’s right,” Tulip said, “this thing just doesn't fit here. It’s almost like it’s alien or otherworldly.”

Nodding at this assessment, Korra then reached out, grabbed the orb, and with a pull, picked it up from out of the bush. Next moment, they all gasped, as the bush suddenly and simply vanished, revealing a large rectangular hole, the edge of which glowed green, and exposed an array of wires, pipes, exposed circuit boards, and a circular slot where the orb had sat.

“What did you pull it out for?!” Sunset said in a reprimanding tone, “that could have been dangerous!”

“I don’t know!” Korra shot back, “I just wanted to see what would happen, OK?!”

“That doesn't mean you should have touched it,” Sunset rebuked.

“Well, we saw what happened once you took the orb,” Steven said, “what about when you try putting it back?”

“Alright, fine,” Korra huffed as she placed the orb back in its slot, and the bush reappeared.

“So, this orb controls the environment?” Tulip wondered.

“All by itself? I doubt it,” Sunset pondered, “maybe it's one of many that are used to form the environment. Removing this one only made this set of bushes disappear, and nothing else.”

“But if there’s a whole bunch of these orbs, then where are they?” Korra asked.

“My guess is they’re all around us, and we just can’t see them because they’re hidden by the environment,” Sunset theorised.

“But if they’re supposed to be hidden,” Steven spoke again, “how come we could see this one?”

“Maybe for the same reason we can see that one,” Atticus said, pointing with his paw. Everyone looked, and sure enough, there was another rectangular hole in the ground, with the same green glow all the way around the edge. In the whole was a mess of wires, pipes, and a circular dish like panel where an orb, identical to the first one, was meant to sit. They then all looked up nervously as they heard strange clicking, clanking and whirring sounds. They slowly made their way towards the sounds, and stopped and stared at what they saw. On the ground, in the walls, and in the air were lots of those same glowing holes, some had orbs in them, others had them removed.

Collecting and sorting through the orbs was a strange mechanical creature, with a body made entirely of long metal tentacles, which all came together behind a porcelain white face mask, which had blue flames coming from its eyes.

It stretched out one of its tentacles, the end of which split into 5 sharp metal fingers, before they tapped rapidly on seemingly thin air, opening a hidden panel and revealing yet another orb. It pulled the orb out of its slot, and dropped it into a metal crate which was full to the brim with identical orbs.

The crate was being carried by another machine, but this one looked different. It looked more like a traditional robot. It waited attentively as the other metal creature took out and loaded more orbs into its crate.

After loading a few more orbs, another machine came hovering down towards them. The best way to describe it was some kind of drone meant for carrying things, which was proved correct when it took hold of the crate from the other bot, and carried it away, hovering up and out of a large hole, in what would have been the sky, but was in fact the wall of the train car. They could clearly see the sky of the desolate world outside.

“So there were real monsters after all,” Atticus said darkly.

“Are they harvesting those orbs?” Steven said.

“If they’re what maintains the environment here, why would they be harvesting them?” Sunset wondered.

“Do we even want to find out?” Korra added.

“We should attack,” said Atticus.

“We’ll never make it,” said One One.

“I say we just get out of here,” Tulip said, “we can try to escape through the unsolvable puzzle door,” she pulled out a notepad and a pen from her back pack, “how do we unlock it, Atticus?”

“First, you put your paw on the handle,” Atticus explained.

“OK,” Tulip said as she scribbled the instructions.

“Then you turn it.”

“Alright,” there was an awkward pause as Tulip waited for Atticus to say more, before she scowled in annoyance. “That’s how all doors open!” she snapped.

“Their dogs, Tulip,” Sunset said in exasperation, “the little babies don’t have thumbs,” she finished in a cutesy voice.

“We need to figure out how to get past those things and get to the door,” Korra put in.

“We could just try talking to them,” One One said as he jumped forwards from their hiding place.

“One One, no don’t,” Steven called after him, but it was too late.

“Hello!” One One called with a wave, before Tulip quickly reached out, grabbed him up and stuffed him in her backpack, but the damage was done. The lead creature turned its face mask towards them, and two small gun turrets pushed out of its burning eyes. It opened fire, and they were all about to scatter, before Steven suddenly stood up, his arms wide, and from seemingly nowhere, a bright pink bubble took form around them. It had a swirling pattern all over it, and a crest that looked like a rose at the top. Everyone stared in astonishment as the bullets bounced harmlessly off the protective dome. They then gave Steven inquisitive looks as he looked back over his shoulder at them.

“I’ll explain later!” He shouted, “Kinda busy right now!”

“I’ll hold you to that!” Sunset shouted over the hail of bullets.

As the metal creature continued to rain fire at them, Korra then stood up, and as everyone watched her, she took a strange stance, and with a grunt, one of the rocks lifted off the ground, and with a thrust of her fist, the rock was sent flying straight at the masked monster, catching it off guard as the rock collided with it and sent it flying back away from them.

“W…w…what?!” Tulip shouted in shock, “Wha…how…how did you…”

“I’ll explain later!” Korra shouted, parroting Steven.

The metal creature struggled and writhed as it was pinned by the rock, before its flaming blue eyes then began to flash an angry red, and the other 2 bots eyes also flashed red, as they turned their attention to the group.

“Uh oh,” Steven said as he began to struggle to maintain his shield, “now we’ve really made them mad.” The two other bots then charged towards them, and began hitting and wailing on the shield with great force, as Steven grit his teeth in concentration. “A little help here, please?! I can’t keep this up forever!”

“I shall draw their attention!” Atticus declared bravely, as run out from under the shield and charged towards the lead robot as fast as his little paws could carry him. “FOR COGINIA!” he bellowed in a battle cry.

“Atticus no!” Sunset yelled after him as she watched in horror as the king of the corgis charged at the lead robot, just as the metal monster finally tossed the rock away from it self, saw Atticus, and with a swipe of its tentacle, it the sent the little dog flying towards the side of the mountain, where he hit the rock face hard, and slid to the ground, where he lay motionless. “ATTICUS!”

After this, Korra and Steven looked at each, and with an understanding nod, Steven shrank his shield down just enough so it covered just the two of them, and they both took off at a run, with Steven ploughing his way through the two drones, as they dashed towards the lead robot. As they approached it, Steven shrank the shield to cover only his arm, and Korra, with a blast of wind from her feet, launched herself into the air.

As she made her descent, she pulled back her fist, and flames formed around it. With a fierce yell, she punched the lead bot right in its face mask with all her might, and with a burst of flames, the metal monster collapsed to the ground, twitching and convulsing violently. Korra then landed back on her feet, and with another punch, she shoved her fist into the ground, and once she withdrew it, it was surrounded by a solid ball of rock. She stomped towards the lead bot as it twitched on the ground, glaring down at it with fury, as she drew back her rock covered fist once more, intending to put an end to the metal monster once and for all.

However, just as she was about to give the final blow, she froze as the lead bot turned its face mask towards her. Its eyes were now glowing bright white, and its face had now morphed into…herself!

“Not you,” Korra whispered as her body suddenly shivered with terror, “not now.” That was all the lead bot needed. Its tentacles lunged out towards Korra, wrapped around her legs, lifted her up like a rag doll, and began spinning her at fast speed, before tossing straight towards Steven, who still had his hands full with the other bots. The two collided with each other, knocking them both to the ground in a heap. The lead bot then crawled towards them, grabbed them both in its tentacles, and then scuttled towards the others.

Sunset and Tulip tried to back away from the robotic monstrosity as it advanced on them, but they were quickly backed into a corner. “What do we do?!” Shouted Tulip.

“I don’t know!” Panicked Sunset. They quickly found themselves backed up against the train car’s exit door, as the lead bot loomed over them. It then dropped Korra and Steven down beside them, and pinned them all down so they couldn't move. As Sunset and Tulip struggled to break free, the metal creature leaned down, bringing its face mask right above them.

“Return to your seats!” It ordered in an electronic female voice.

Just then, One One pushed his way out of Tulips backpack. “Greetings friends!” he chirped, “Do you want me to write your obituaries?”

The masked robot looked up at One One, and, to everyone's surprise, released its hold on the group. Tulip, taking advantage of the moment, reached for the handle on the exit door, and the door swung open, hitting the bot right in its mask. Then, with a loud click, the mask opened upwards, revealing its inner workings, as well as a large round dish-like slot, almost like there was something missing from it. Its face mask then slapped back into place, before it took another glance down at One One. It then turned and retreated out of the car door, with the other two bots right on its tail. Tulip quickly got up and watched as the strange robotic trio disappeared over the top of the next train car. She then turned to check on the others as they all either sat up or got back to their feet, gasping and sighing in relief. “Are you guys alright?” she asked.

“We’ll live,” Sunset said with a groan.

“But what happened?” Steven asked. “Why’d they just leave like that? They could have easily finished us off.”

“I don’t know,” Sunset replied, “what do you think, Korra?” When Korra didn’t answer, Sunset looked at her, only to stare in bewilderment. Korra was kneeling on the ground, and her face wore a blank expression as she stared straight ahead of her at seemingly nothing, like she was lost in a daze. Also, if you looked carefully enough, you could see that her body was visibly shaking ever so slightly. “Uhh, Korra?” Sunset cautiously approached, reached out a hand and touched the older woman's shoulder, and in an instant, the trance was broken.

“Um, uh, what?” Korra stuttered in surprise.

“Are you ok?” Sunset asked in concern.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Korra replied just a little too quickly, making Sunset suspect she wasn’t fine, and was trying to change the subject off herself.

“OK, if you're sure,” she replied, but could see that although the daze had been broken, she still continued to shake. She then reached out with both hands, and helped Korra back to her feet, who gave a small, grateful smile, but Sunset could still see, and now felt her shaking. But before she could think about it any further, they both looked up at a certain red headed girl's voice.

“OK, you,” Tulip said accusingly as she pointed at Korra, “and you,” she then pointed at Steven, “I knew you two were weird, but now you both have superpowers like out of some comic book?” She gave each of them a stern look. “Start explaining. Did you gain those powers when you came aboard the Train? Did you know about them when you came aboard? Does this mean that I have powers too?” She fired question after question at them, as they both looked more and more uncomfortable.

“Uhh, well, you see…” Steven said sheepishly.

“That’s enough, Tulip!” Sunset snapped at the red haired girl in a stern tone. “After what we’ve just been through, Korra and Steven aren’t in any state to explain anything, none of us are. We can save questions for later, just be glad they both did what they did, or things could have turned out a lot worse for us.” She then looked around as her eyes widened in worry. “Speaking of which, where’s Atticus?” She then heard a groan as she spotted the Royal Corgi, who was getting back up onto his paws. “Atticus!” Sunset left Korra’s side and dashed over to the dog, kneeling down beside him. “Atticus, are you alright?”

“Do not be concerned, I am in fighting shape,” Atticus reassured her, before he let out a pained moan and collapsed to the ground.

This seemed to bring Korra to her senses, as she quickly ran to Sunset’s side, and knelt down beside her. “Here, let me help,” she said, as she gently picked up Atticus in her arms, and carried him over to the river. She placed the dog down on the bank, and with a wave of her hands, a plume of water rose up from the river, and engulfed both of her hands, like a pair of watery gloves. Slowly and carefully, she rubbed her water covered hands over the poor dog’s body. “Tell me where it hurts, OK?” she said softly.

“I must say, this is the most soothing sensation,” Atticus said in a relaxed voice, “Ohh that’s so much better.” He whimpered for a moment as Korra moved her hands down to his back legs, “Ohh, careful there, a little tender.”

“OK, that’s pretty cool,” Steven said with a grin.

“Where’d she learn to do that?” Tulip asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Does it really matter right now?” Sunset stated, “Just let her do what she needs to do."

“Alright, does that feel better, Atticus?” Korra asked with a smile as she sent the water back into the river with a wave of hand.

“Very much better, thank you,” Atticus said gratefully, “although would you mind putting me down before…”

“Oh right, yeah, sure,” Korra said with a chuckle as she put the corgi back on the ground. “There, all better.” She knelt down and scratched the King Corgi’s chin. “Who’s a good boy?“

“I am a good man,” said Atticus as he wagged his tail, before the two of them headed back over to the others. Atticus then paused as he looked down at one of the orbs that was lying on the ground. He padded over to it, and nudged it back into its slot. The moment the orb was back in place, the rushing river instantly stopped flowing. “As of this moment, my people are safe,” he started proudly, but then gave a frown, “for now at least. As long as that monster and its two minions are still at large, Corginia will never be truly safe.” He then turned to the others. “My friends, I must request that I accompany you on your journey?” He asked humbly.

“Really?” Sunset said with a big, excited smile. “Of course you can come with us.”

“We’d be delighted to have you along with us, Atticus,” Korra said with a wide smile of her own.

“Yes indeed,” Tulip said in a mock posh voice, “It would be an honour to be joined by such royalty.” The other girls just laughed at this.

“But what about your kingdom?” asked Steven. “Surely you can’t just leave them without a leader?”

“No need to worry, my friend,” Atticus said with a wave of his paw, “I can just leave the kingdom in the capable paws of my assistant, Steve.”

“Steve?” Steven said with a frown.

“I assure you, Steve is just as much of a good leader as I am,” Atticus said. “So, shall we depart on our heroic quest?”

“Yeah, sure,” Korra said with a light chuckle. “I’d say we’ve hung around here long enough.”

“Agreed,” Sunset added, “we really need to keep moving if we’re ever going to reach the engine.”

“But maybe we can move at a more steady pace instead of charging through everything,” Tulip said with an embarrassed smile and a light blush.

“Best idea I’ve heard all day,” Korra said with a smile, and she and Sunset lead the group out through the train car’s exit door. What they failed to notice as they exited the car, was that all of their Numbers were suddenly changing.

Once the group had gone through the door, Korra stepped back through, seeing that Atticus hadn’t followed them. “Uhh, aren’t you coming?” she asked.

“Yes,” replied Atticus.

“Then come on.”

“No, no, no,” Atticus replied skittishly.

“Oh, come on, Atticus, don’t you want to go outside?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Outside?”

“Uhh, no.”

“Outside?”

“Maybe,” Atticus fidgeted.

“You want to come outside and play?” Korra said with a smile.

“Yes, I want to come outside and play!” Atticus said excitedly as he scampered out of the door, and Korra could only giggle as she followed him.

To Be Continued…

Infinity Train: Crossover Nexus

by Solar Force

Chapter 1: Stranded/The DollHouse Car

Chapter 2: The Arcade Car/The Snow Car/The Grid Car

Chapter 3: The Beach Car

Chapter 4: The Corgi Car